Sen. Johnson: Voters, Congress should have known about DOJ Hunter Biden investigation
Trump described Attorney General William Barr as a 'big disappointment' in a 'Fox & Friends' interview
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said members of Congress should have been informed that Hunter Biden's "tax affairs" were under investigation as they considered whether to vote to impeach President Trump in 2019.
"I'm sympathetic for keeping investigations confidential unless there's an indictment," Johnson told "Sunday Morning Futures." "But when you're talking about investigations within the political realm, particularly one that would have affected the impeachment trial of the sitting U.S. president in the U.S. Senate, that should have been relevant information, the fact that they had Hunter Biden's computer that had all these emails back in December 2019."
HUNTER BIDEN 'TAX AFFAIRS' UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That was before the trial, that was part of that impeachment, we should have known that," he said.
The first impeachment hearing in the House of Representatives was Dec. 4, 2019, and the House approved articles of impeachment Dec. 18. Trump was acquitted in February 2020 after a Senate trial.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Attorney General William Barr was aware of investigations involving President-elect Joe Biden’s son since before the spring and has resisted pressure from Republicans in Congress for information into the investigations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WFP USA Board Chair Hunter Biden introduces his father Vice President Joe Biden during the World Food Program USA's 2016 McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony at the Organization of American States on April 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Kris Connor/WireImage)
"When I met with the attorney general, it was really talking about the corrupt FBI investigation relating to the Russian hoax, so I don't believe I ever really talked about our investigations of Hunter Biden, which by the way we never targeted the Bidens," Johnson said. "That whole issue was brought forth during the impeachment. That's when we started expanding our Ukrainian investigation to include his financial dealings, and then when we started seeing all these wire transfers that were connected to Hunter Biden."
President Trump on Saturday described Barr as a “big disappointment” after a report claiming the nation’s top lawyer knew about the Hunter Biden investigation months ago.
Justice Department guidelines advise investigators against taking overt actions in a run-up to an election so as not to be seen as affecting the outcome.
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Hunter Biden said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware is investigating his “tax affairs” and that he is taking the matter “very seriously” and is “confident” he handled his affairs “legally and appropriately.”
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.