Obama Called GOP’s Bogus Biden-Ukraine Probe Part Of ‘Russian Disinformation’

on October 17, 2016 in Washington, DC.
Vice President Joseph Biden speaks as President Barack Obama listens during a meeting to release the Cancer Moonshot Report in the Oval Office on October 17, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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A highly politicized GOP Senate investigation into discredited allegations against Joe Biden in Ukraine constitute efforts to boost Russia-sourced disinformation, President Obama’s office said in a March 2020 letter.

The former president’s office sent the letter to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in response to a November 2019 request from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) for access to documents and records from the Obama administration.

“However, the current request is not a proper use of the limited NARA exceptions,” the letter reads. “It arises out of efforts by some, actively supported by Russia, to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine.”

Grassley and Johnson, as respective heads of the Senate Finance and Homeland Security committees, have picked up the investigative slack left behind by personal attorney for President Trump Rudy Giuliani.

The committees are probing unsubstantiated allegations that Ukrainian officials conspired with the Democratic National Committee to damage President Trump’s 2016 campaign. The committees have persevered in the probe despite overwhelming opposition from facts and reality, continuing the crucial work of building a narrative to counter evidence showing that President Trump leaned on the Ukrainian government to have Kyiv interfere in the 2020 election. For the President’s allies on Capitol Hill, the probe has an added benefit: it could be used to smear the Democratic nominee in an election year.

The investigation picked up steam in February as Biden’s chances of becoming the Democratic 2020 nominee surged, and has been marred by at least one GOP witness coming under suspicion of being a vehicle for Russian disinformation efforts.

The March 2020 letter to the National Archives indicated that Obama believed the GOP records request to be “without precedent” and lacking a “legitimate purpose.”

But, regardless, Obama gave the green light for the release of the records, suggesting that the information itself would counteract the disinformation campaign.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request, we are prepared on this occasion to provide the Committees access to the records responsive to this request,” the letter concludes.

Read the letter here:

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