Gavin Howe
There is no evidence that Joe Biden broke any laws in his dealings with Ukraine. However, there have been conspiracy theories and false allegations that he improperly withheld a loan guarantee and took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin to prevent a corruption investigation of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and to protect his son, Hunter Biden, who was on the Burisma board.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Did Joe Biden break any laws with Ukraine? | No evidence of any laws being broken |
| Did Joe Biden withhold a loan guarantee to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin? | Yes, but this was in accordance with the official and bipartisan policy of the US, the EU, the World Bank and other international institutions |
| Did Joe Biden take a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing Viktor Shokin? | No evidence of a bribe |
| Did Joe Biden seek the dismissal of Viktor Shokin to protect his son, Hunter Biden? | No evidence of this |
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What You'll Learn
- Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma
- Joe Biden withheld a loan guarantee to Ukraine
- Joe Biden took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin
- Joe Biden urged Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, threatening to withhold US aid
- Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, held a directorship with a natural gas company called Burisma Holdings
Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma
There is no evidence that Joe Biden broke any laws in his dealings with Ukraine. However, there is a conspiracy theory that asserts that, while he was vice president, Biden improperly withheld a loan guarantee and took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. This was supposedly done to prevent a corruption investigation of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, on whose board Biden's son, Hunter Biden, sat. The theory also suggests that Biden wanted to protect his son, who was on the Burisma board.
Hunter Biden did hold a directorship with Burisma Holdings, a natural gas company, beginning in the spring of 2104. At the time, a statement on the company's website said that Biden "would help the company with transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion, and other issues". It is important to note that, while this may have been a way to get around U.S. campaign finance laws that prohibit donations from foreigners and foreign governments, there is no evidence that either Biden broke any laws.
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Joe Biden withheld a loan guarantee to Ukraine
In January 2018, Biden took credit for withholding the loan guarantees to have Shokin fired. However, there is no evidence that Biden advocated with his son's interests in mind, and it is not clear that Burisma was actively under investigation or that a change in prosecutors benefited the company.
The allegation that Biden withheld the loan guarantee to protect his son is part of a conspiracy theory spread by Donald Trump and his campaign during the 2020 presidential campaign. Trump attempted to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Burisma and the Bidens in exchange for military aid and a visit to the White House. This resulted in Trump's first impeachment.
Biden's actions in withholding the loan guarantee were in line with the official policy of the US and other international institutions, and there is no evidence that he broke any laws. However, the fact that the children of leading US politicians often get lucrative jobs from foreign state-owned enterprises is concerning, even if it is legal.
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Joe Biden took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin
There is no evidence that Joe Biden broke any laws in his dealings with Ukraine. However, there is a conspiracy theory that Biden took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin to prevent a corruption investigation of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and to protect his son, Hunter Biden, who was on the Burisma board.
The theory goes that Joe Biden sought the dismissal of a Ukrainian prosecutor to protect his son, and that he did it in a quid pro quo manner by trading loan guarantees for the personal favour. This is in contrast to the attempted quid pro quo by President Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to start an investigation of Burisma and the Bidens in exchange for military aid and a visit to the White House. Trump's effort resulted in his first impeachment.
In January 2018, a video by the Council on Foreign Relations shows Biden taking credit for withholding the loan guarantees to have the prosecutor fired. However, Biden followed State Department intentions when he withheld the loan guarantee to pressure Ukraine into removing the prosecutor, who was seen as corrupt and failing to clean up Ukrainian corruption, in accordance with the official and bipartisan policy of the United States, the European Union, the World Bank and other international institutions.
It is important to emphasise that there is no evidence that Hunter Biden broke any laws in receiving his lucrative state-owned Ukrainian natural gas company board post.
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Joe Biden urged Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, threatening to withhold US aid
It is important to note that there is no evidence that Joe Biden broke any laws in his dealings with Ukraine. However, there have been allegations that he improperly withheld a loan guarantee and took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. This was supposedly done to prevent a corruption investigation into the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where his son, Hunter Biden, was on the board. Biden has also been accused of seeking the dismissal of a Ukrainian prosecutor to protect his son, in a quid pro quo manner by trading loan guarantees for personal favours.
In January 2018, a videotaping by the Council on Foreign Relations showed Biden taking credit for withholding loan guarantees to have the prosecutor fired. He did urge Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, threatening to withhold US aid. However, this was also the position of the wider US government and other international institutions. There is no evidence to suggest that Joe Biden advocated with his son's interests in mind, and it is unclear if the company was actively under investigation or if a change in prosecutors would have benefited it.
Hunter Biden did hold a directorship with Burisma Holdings, a natural gas company, beginning in the spring of 2014. At the time, a statement on the company's website said that the younger Biden "would help the company with transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion, and other issues".
It is worth noting that the allegations against Joe Biden were part of a conspiracy theory spread by Donald Trump and his campaign during the 2020 presidential campaign to damage Biden's reputation and chances. These falsehoods were also used in an attempt to impeach him later on.
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Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, held a directorship with a natural gas company called Burisma Holdings
Hunter Biden's role at Burisma Holdings began in the spring of 2014. At the time, a statement on the company's website said that Biden "would help the company with transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion, and other issues". While some have expressed concern about the potential for conflicts of interest and the use of family members of politicians to get around campaign finance laws, there is no evidence that Hunter Biden or Joe Biden broke any laws.
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Frequently asked questions
No, there is no evidence that Joe Biden broke any laws in Ukraine.
Joe Biden was accused of improperly withholding a loan guarantee and taking a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin to prevent a corruption investigation of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and to protect his son Hunter Biden, who was on the Burisma board.
Hunter Biden held a directorship with a natural gas company called Burisma Holdings.
Yes, Joe Biden did withhold a loan guarantee to pressure Ukraine into removing the prosecutor, who was seen as corrupt and failing to clean up Ukrainian corruption.
There is no evidence to support the idea that Joe Biden advocated with his son's interests in mind, or that the company was actively under investigation or that a change in prosecutors benefited it.
