Senate committee votes to authorize subpoenas in Hunter Biden investigation

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to authorize Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to issue subpoenas to Blue Star Strategies in connection with an investigation into Hunter Biden's dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

The investigation into the presumptive Democratic nominee's son came about as the result of the Democrats' attempt to impeach President Donald Trump. The Democratic investigation conducted by the House along party lines sought to remove the president from office on the basis that he allegedly pressured the Ukrainian government into investigating Hunter Biden.

During the course of that investigation, it was revealed that former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter had been paid a $50,000 a month salary by Burisma despite having no obvious expertise in the natural gas industry.

Since the impeachment investigation, Republicans in the Senate have sought to investigate whether Blue Star Strategies, a public relations firm retained by Burisma, sought to leverage Hunter Biden's position on Burisma's board to influence policymakers in the Obama State Department.

Democrats have condemned the investigation as a partisan gimmick and all Democrats on the committee voted against authorizing the subpoena, which seeks documents and a deposition from Blue Star Strategies CEO Karen Tramontano.

According to Politico, Johnson responded to Democratic objections by asking, "What is everybody worried about? If there's nothing there, we'll find out there's nothing there. But if there's something there, the American people need to know that."

Former Vice President Joe Biden has denied any wrongdoing by himself or his son Hunter in connection with Burisma.