Trump asks China to investigate his opponent

New York Times:

President Trump on Thursday openly called on China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, an extraordinary request that mirrored the one he made privately to the Ukrainian president, which is at the center of his impeachment inquiry.

Critics argue that these requests, which seek foreign assistance in discrediting a potential opponent in the 2020 election, are an abuse of presidential power. By asking so publicly, Mr. Trump seems determined to push back against those charges.

Details: Mr. Trump was specifically referring to a business deal between Mr. Biden’s son Hunter and a fund that involved the state-owned Bank of China. The fund was announced in 2013, days after Hunter Biden had flown to China with his father, who as vice president was in the midst of a diplomatic mission.

A lawyer for Hunter Biden has said that he did not conduct any business related to the investment fund on that trip, and that he was not an equity owner in the fund while his father was vice president.

The inquiry process: House investigators on Thursday interviewed their first witness in the growing impeachment inquiry: Kurt Volker, the State Department’s special envoy for Ukraine, who was named in the whistle-blower’s complaint.