Biden says he would not engage in witness swap in impeachment trial

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he would not take part in a witness swap in the Senate’s impeachment trial as Democratic senators similarly dismissed the idea on Wednesday.

A voter asked whether the presidential hopeful would offer to testify in order to get one of President Trump’s officials, such as acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney or former national security adviser John Bolton, to testify.

The former vice president replied that it was “not an irrational question to ask” but added he would not participate in such a trade, The Washington Post reported.

“The reason I would not make the deal, the bottom line is, this is a constitutional issue,” Joe Biden said in Iowa, according to the Post. “We’re not going to turn it into a farce or political theater. I want no part of that.”

Joe Biden also defended his son Hunter Biden, whom Republicans have criticized throughout the impeachment process.

“There’s nobody that’s indicated there’s a single solitary thing he did that was inappropriate or wrong — other than the appearance. It looked bad that he was there,” Joe Biden said, referencing comments from his son about being on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, according to the Post.

The impeachment inquiry began after Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter Biden amid a focus among GOP allies on Hunter Biden’s role sitting on the board of the company Burisma Holdings while his father served as vice president.

Republicans have claimed Trump was attempting to root out corruption with his request, while Democrats say he was abusing his power and pushing unfounded claims about the former vice president’s efforts to get Ukraine to fire a top prosecutor in that country.

On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) similarly ruled out the possibility of making a deal with Republicans that would allow both sides to secure desired testimony for the impeachment trial, with Schumer saying it was “off the table.”

Q: “Would you be open to say a witness trade?”@SenSchumer: “No. I think that’s off the table.” pic.twitter.com/Cl5wMPGH4n

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 22, 2020

Democrats have been pushing to have Bolton and other officials testify in front of the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republicans have fought back, saying the House should have collected all necessary witnesses before voting to impeach the president.