Biden says he would not comply with a Senate subpoena in the impeachment trial of President Trump

Nick Coltrain | Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Biden wouldn't comply with a Senate subpoena in Trump's impeachment trial Former Vice President Joe Biden says he wouldn't comply with a Senate subpoena to testify at the impeachment trial because it would let Trump 'off the hook.'

Former Vice President Joe Biden confirmed Friday he would not comply with a subpoena to testify in a Senate trial of President Donald Trump.

The Democratically controlled U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump earlier this month alleging Trump abused his presidential power by tying foreign aid approved by Congress to a politically motivated investigation into a company on which Biden’s son Hunter Biden served on the board.

Leaders in the House and Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate are trying to come to terms for an impeachment trial. Biden said in early December he wouldn’t comply with a subpoena by the Senate, and confirmed that statement Friday in an interview with the Des Moines Register’s editorial board. He has not been subpoenaed, but Trump's allies have floated the idea.

► MORE:

Saturday morning'Impeachment is about Trump’s conduct, not mine': Biden expands on subpoena remarks

Saturday evening: 'I would obey any subpoena': Joe Biden now says

Testifying before the Senate on the matter would take attention away from Trump and the allegations against him, Biden said. Not even “that thug” Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney and former New York City mayor, has accused Biden of doing anything but his job, the former vice president said. Biden also said any attempt to subpoena him would be on “specious” grounds, and he predicted it wouldn't come to that.

Biden said even if he volunteered to testify in an attempt to clear the air, it would create a media narrative that would let Trump off the hook.

“What are you going to cover?” Biden said to Register Executive Editor Carol Hunter in response to a question. “You guys are going to cover for three weeks anything that I said. And (Trump’s) going to get away. You guys buy into it all the time. Not a joke … Think what it’s about. It's all about what he does all the time, his entire career. Take the focus off. This guy violated the Constitution. He said it in the driveway of the White House. He acknowledged he asked for help.”

Shortly after the House voted to impeach Trump, Biden was campaigning in Iowa, where he called impeachment "a sad moment for our country." It underscored the need for a president who can unify the country, he said.

"No one’s taken as much heat and as many lies thrown at them as I have, but again, this is not about me. It’s not about my family. It’s about the nation. And we have to reach out and unify this country," Biden said in Ottumwa on Saturday.

A centerpiece to Biden's campaign is his ability to beat Trump in a general election. It was a sentiment most likely Democratic caucusgoers shared in a mid-November Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll. He was the only candidate whom a majority of respondents said they were either almost certain or fairly confident would defeat Trump, according to the poll.

He said Friday that beating Trump at the ballot box is a "precondition to any progress being made."

Biden's meeting Friday with the Register's editorial board was part of a two-day swing through the state. He has events planned Saturday in Tipton, Washington and Fairfield.

Nick Coltrain is a politics and data reporter for the Register. Reach him at ncoltrain@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8361.

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