众议院情报委员会主席、民主党众议员亚当·希夫谴责众议院共和党人要求前副总统乔·拜登的儿子亨特·拜登在下周开始的公开弹劾调查中作证，并确认诉讼不会调查“虚假”拜登的指控。
现任共和党议员德文·努内斯(Devin Nunes)在周六给希夫的一封信中，要求匿名举报者拜登和其他几个人作证，作为弹劾调查的一部分，弹劾调查将于下周从闭门取证转向公开听证。
对此，希夫证实拜登不会作证，但同意审查共和党名单的其余部分。“这次调查不是也不会成为对拜登夫妇或2016年进行同样虚假调查的工具，就像总统为了个人政治利益迫使乌克兰进行的那样，”这位最高民主党人说华盛顿邮报“或者协助总统威胁、恐吓和报复敢于发出最初警报的告密者。”
希夫补充说:“委员会正在评估少数族裔的证人请求，并将在众议院投票决定的弹劾调查范围内适当考虑证人。”。“随着调查进入公开听证阶段，委员会意识到，我们正在进行植根于《宪法》的冷静努力，以确定美国总统是否有不当行为，值得众议院弹劾。”
除了拜登和告密者，众议院共和党人还在公开和解中要求其他几个证词，包括来自美国商人德文·阿彻的证词谁服役拜登是布里斯马控股公司的董事会成员；Nellie Ohr，反对派研究公司融合全球定位系统的前承包商；和负责政治事务的副国务卿戴维·贾勒。
努恩斯在信中写道:“我们希望你能传唤上述每个证人，以确保民主党的‘弹劾调查’公平对待总统，正如佩洛西议长所承诺的那样。”您未能满足少数族裔证人的要求将构成您拒绝基本公平和正当程序的证据。"
众议院议长南希·佩洛西在9月下旬对唐纳德·特朗普发起弹劾调查，此前有报道称，一名举报者因担心总统在7月份的一次电话中要求乌克兰领导人沃洛德梅尔·泽兰斯基调查其国内2020年政治对手而提出正式投诉。白宫发布的他们谈话的部分转录证实特朗普确实要求他的外国对手调查拜登夫妇。然而，总统一再否认有任何不当行为，并表示没有交换条件。
2019年10月17日，加利福尼亚州民主党众议员、众议院情报常设特别委员会主席亚当·希夫在DC华盛顿国会山对媒体发表讲话。
SCHIFF REJECTS GOP CALLS FOR HUNTER BIDEN TO TESTIFY, SAYS IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WON'T PROBE 'SHAM' CLAIMS
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, rebuked House Republicans' calls for former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, to testify in the public impeachment inquiry starting next week and confirmed that the proceedings will not probe "sham" Biden claims.
Current ranking member Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, in a letter to Schiff on Saturday, asked for Biden, the anonymous whistleblower and several others to testify as part of the impeachment probe, which will move from closed-door depositions to public hearings next week.
In response, Schiff confirmed that Biden will not be testifying but agreed to review the rest of the Republicans' list. "This inquiry is not and will not serve as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit," the top Democrat said, according to The Washington Post, "or facilitate the President's effort to threaten, intimidate, and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm."
"The Committee is evaluating the Minority's witness requests and will give due consideration to witnesses within the scope of the impeachment inquiry, as voted on by the House," Schiff added. "As we move into the open hearing phase of the inquiry, the Committee is mindful that we are engaged in a sober endeavor rooted in the Constitution to determine whether the President of the United States engaged in misconduct that warrants impeachment by the House."
In addition to Biden and the whistleblower, House Republicans also asked for several other testimonies in an open settling, including from Devon Archer, an American businessman who served with Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings; Nellie Ohr, former contractor for opposition research firm Fusion GPS; and David Jale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
"We expect that you will call each of the witnesses listed above to ensure that the Democrats' 'impeachment inquiry' treats the President with fairness, as promised by Speaker Pelosi," Nunes wrote in the letter. "Your failure to fulfill Minority witness requests shall constitute evidence of your denial of fundamental fairness and due process."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump in late September after reports began emerging that a whistleblower filed a formal complaint over concerns that the president had asked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy to probe his domestic political 2020 rival during a July phone call. A partial transcription of their conversation, released by the White House, confirmed that Trump did ask his foreign counterpart to investigate the Bidens. However, the president has repeatedly denied committing any wrongdoing and said there was no quid pro quo.
Representative Adam Schiff, Democrat of California and Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 17, 2019.
