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Biden seeks distance from impeachment saga

In prior remarks about his son, Biden has said he would let his son’s remarks in an ABC interview speak for themselves. Also, Biden says, he knew little about his son’s work for Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company that was the subject of Trump’s focus.

Judging by the questions Biden has received at town halls, voters are more interested in healthcare, Social Security or abortion. But the topic of Hunter Biden and impeachment has still come up.

In Grinnell, Iowa, Biden was asked on Jan. 5 by a voter about whether he or his son should testify and how the controversy would unfold if he becomes the Democratic nominee.

“I would comply myself with any legitimate subpoena that came to me,” Biden said, pointing out that the witnesses who testified during the House impeachment proceedings said he did nothing illegal or unethical when, on behalf of the U.S. government as vice president and a coalition of foreign governments, he pressured Ukraine to fire a corrupt prosecutor.

“With regard to my son, Hunter, there’s no way he shed light on whether or not Trump did in fact ask [the government of Ukraine] to investigate,” Biden said.

Biden usually avoids specifically discussing impeachment on the campaign trail and seldom says Hunter Biden’s name at all — a sharp contrast to his frequent mentions of his son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2014.

Biden’s emotions in defending his sole surviving son erupted last month when an Iowa farmer at a campaign event accused Biden of somehow “selling access” through his son’s Ukraine arrangement with Burisma.

“You’re a damn liar, man. That’s not true. And no one has ever said that,” Biden said in response. And when the man slipped up during the exchange, Biden exploded: “Get your words straight, Jack!”

The fiery exchange and the nature of Trump’s attacks on Biden, ironically, may have helped Biden to date in the primary.

“It reminds people that Trump is worried about Biden. He talks about him incessantly … because he doesn’t want to face Joe Biden in the fall,” said Jeff Link, an Iowa Democratic consultant. “A lot of folks in Iowa looked at what Trump is doing and thought, ‘Well, I think Biden must be the strongest candidate to take on Donald Trump if Trump thinks so.’”

Biden is in the midst of a two-day campaign swing through Iowa while the senators running against him are stuck in Washington. Just as Biden began campaigning in Ames, Iowa, Sanders’ campaign was announcing he had to cancel a Wednesday event in Cedar Falls. His surrogate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), will stand in for Sanders in Iowa. The other candidates similarly have surrogates stumping for them in the early states during the trial. The only other top-tier candidate in Iowa, Pete Buttigieg, is also on the campaign trail.

Source: politico.com
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