Topic: Viktor Shokin

House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, focusing on his role in the firing of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Critics allege the move was intended to protect Burisma, the energy company where Hunter Biden served as a board member, despite White House claims of no evidence.

Larry Kudlow reports on the unsealing of an FBI 1023 form alleging that Joe and Hunter Biden each received $5 million bribes from a Burisma executive. The timing of the Trump indictment is characterized as a "transparent attempt" to distract from these corruption allegations involving the Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin.

Senator Ted Cruz confronted a State Department nominee regarding Joe Biden's 2016 demand to fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Cruz played audio of Biden boasting about withholding $1 billion in aid to force the firing, which Cruz alleges benefited the Burisma oligarch paying Hunter Biden. The committee chairwoman intervened to prevent the nominee from answering the question.

Joe Biden is heard in a 2018 clip describing how he pressured Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire State Prosecutor Viktor Shokin by withholding a $1 billion loan guarantee. The legality of a Vice President unilaterally withholding Congressionally approved funds is questioned in the context of institutional "backsliding" in Ukraine.

Leaked audio recordings from Ukraine appear to show then-Vice President Joe Biden pressuring President Petro Poroshenko to fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin in exchange for a $1 billion loan guarantee. The hosts analyze the "quid pro quo" nature of the conversation and contrast it with the media's treatment of Donald Trump's phone calls.

A 2018 clip from the Council on Foreign Relations features Joe Biden recounting how he threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine unless they fired Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Biden describes giving the Ukrainian government a six-hour deadline to remove the official.

Footage from the Council on Foreign Relations shows Joe Biden recounting how he pressured Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire a state prosecutor by threatening to withhold a $1 billion loan guarantee. While Biden maintains the action was part of an international effort to curb corruption, critics point to his son Hunter Biden's role on the board of Burisma as a potential conflict of interest. The timeline of the prosecutor's investigation into Burisma remains a central point of political debate.