Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy suggested Saturday that the United States' involvement in the war in Ukraine is "likely" tied to allegations that President Joe Biden's son received bribes from overseas energy firm Burisma.
“The purpose of the U.S. military [is] to advance American interests, to protect the homeland. Not to aimlessly fight some random war that’s arguably a repayment for a private bribe that a family member of the United States received, $5 million from Burisma,” Ramaswamy said during a campaign event in front of around 60 Iowans in Council Bluffs.
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Ramaswamy said it's "likely" that Hunter Biden's former dealings with Ukraine are intertwined with the current military crisis between Russia.
"Was the payment to Hunter Biden corrupt? Absolutely it was. Do I think that it has some relationship towards our posture toward Ukraine? I think it’s likely that it does," he said.
The $5 million that the presidential candidate spoke of echoes accusations made by Republican lawmakers, including House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY), who has accused the Biden family of taking bribery payments related to the younger Biden's foreign business dealings.
After a 5-year investigation led by the Justice Department, Hunter Biden, 53, agreed to enter a deal to plead guilty to tax evasion counts and a felony gun charge. The deal was put on hold last month after a Delaware federal judge questioned the scope of the deal while House Republicans have continued their investigation of the Biden family.
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A former business partner of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, testified in a closed-door session for members of Congress. He said there were several business meetings the younger Biden had where his father would call in, but said business was never directly discussed and that the first son would use the "illusion" of power from his father to make deals.
Archer later admitted the tactics were a "soft abuse of power," in his opinion. He also testified he was not aware of foreign policy decisions related to Ukraine being altered due to the first son's business there.