Former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin denied allegations of corruption against him, dismissing them as baseless.
In an interview with Fox News's Brian Kilmeade that aired on Saturday, Shokin claimed that he was fired in 2016 under pressure from then-Vice President Joe Biden due to his investigation of Burisma, which Hunter Biden served on the board of. However, Shokin has been accused of corruption by a variety of media outlets, international watchdogs, and even fellow Ukrainian prosecutors, who claim that was the true cause for Shokin's dismissal.
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Kilmeade brought up some of these allegations in the interview, which Shokin dismissed.
"I would appreciate if any of these highly respectable publications could come up with a single instance or a single example of my personal corruption or any offense whatsoever allegedly committed by me," Shokin responded, when presented with reports accusing him of corruption from the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Wall Street Journal. "Since I was fired, nobody, including Joe Biden, has cited or mentioned or provided any examples of my corruption or any offense allegedly committed by me."
Kilmeade then followed up by asking why Shokin hadn't sued the outlets for defamation if the allegations were untrue.
"I would gladly [sue for defamation]," Shokin responded. "But suing somebody costs money, and I simply don't have the money to do that because I am a retiree, and my monthly pension constitutes the equivalent of $800."
He also stated that during his tenure, "There were no complaints whatsoever and no problems with how I was performing at my job."
The White House roundly condemned Shokin's allegations that Biden had him fired over his investigation into Burisma, contending that the real reason was his own corruption.
"For years, these false claims have been debunked, and no matter how much air time Fox gives them, they will remain false," White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. "Fox is giving a platform for these lies to a former Ukrainian prosecutor general whose office his own deputy called ‘a hotbed of corruption,’ drawing demands for reform not only from then-Vice President Biden but also from U.S. diplomats, international partners, and Republican senators like Ron Johnson."
Among those speaking out against him was his own deputy, Vitaly Kasko, who alleged that Shokin took no action in cases against a former government minister who indirectly controlled Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, Bloomberg reported. Kasko has also claimed that he asked Shokin to pursue the inquiries against Zlochevsky.
Kasko resigned from his position in 2016, calling his office a "hotbed of corruption" and "one of the key obstacles to the arrival of foreign investment in Ukraine," according to Reuters.
The White House also pointed to claims that Shokin wasn't even investigating Burisma at the time of his ousting.
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“Shokin was not investigating Biden,” Daria Kaleniuk, a prominent Ukrainian activist, told the Associated Press in 2016. “There were several cases into Burisma and Zlochevsky, but Shokin was blocking those investigations.”
Shokin has said that he will elaborate on his claims against Biden in his upcoming book.