Wyden Statement on HSGAC Vote to Subpoena Blue Star Strategies

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement in response to the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee vote to subpoena Blue Star Strategies, the latest step in its joint investigation with the Senate Finance Committee:

“With more than 90,000 Americans dead and 36 million workers unemployed, Chairman Johnson is using the Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee—the principal committee responsible for overseeing the federal response to the pandemic—to chase right-wing conspiracy theories.

“Chairman Johnson explicitly supported Vice President Biden’s diplomatic efforts in Ukraine, but now wants to pretend something nefarious happened to help Donald Trump.

“More alarming still is foreign disinformation of unknown authenticity and origin.

“Three weeks ago, the Chairmen of the Finance Committee and the Homeland Security Government Affairs Committee requested information about calls between Vice President Biden and Ukrainian officials.

“Yesterday, on the eve of the committee’s subpoena vote, excerpts of calls involving Biden were leaked by Andriy Derkach, a member of Ukraine’s parliament previously aligned with a pro-Russia faction, and Andrii Telizhenko, a controversial former Ukraine Embassy employee who has worked closely with Senate Republicans. The source of those calls is unknown.

“The Russian government attacked the 2016 election, and the Senate needs to be vigilant to prevent Russia from doing the same in 2020. All Senate Finance Committee members should receive briefings from the intelligence community on these matters before the committee pursues them further.”

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet