George Kent says he would 'love to see' Burisma investigation as GOP attempts to undercut suggestion of quid pro quo

Show Caption Hide Caption Impeachment hearing: Sondland sends Taylor 'call me' text over Ukraine Ambassador William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, read off a text message he sent to both Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker.

George Kent, deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, said he believed alleged corruption related to Ukrainian gas company Burisma should be investigated, a point Republicans have emphasized in their defense of President Donald Trump.

“To summarize, we thought that Mykola Zlochevsky had stolen money,” Kent said of the oligarch head of Burisma. “We thought a prosecutor had taken a bribe to shut the case, those were our main concerns."

“Are you in favor of that matter being fully investigated and prosecuted?” asked Steve Castor, Republicans' counsel on the House Intelligence Committee.

“I think since U.S. taxpayer dollars were wasted, I would love to see the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office find out who the corrupt prosecutor was and who took the bribe, and how much was paid, and that’s what I told the deputy prosecutor general on February 3, 2015,” Kent replied.

When asked if he thought individuals or organizations responsible for the bribes should be prosecuted, Kent replied, "I agree that the Ukrainian law authorities should uphold the rule of law and hold people accountable for breaking Ukrainian law."

Republicans have claimed investigations into Zlochevsky were ended to benefit Hunter Biden, who was a member of the Burisma board, although the probe had focused on a period of time before Hunter Biden joined the board.

Joe Biden, as Vice President, had ordered aid withheld to Ukraine to pressure Ukrainian officials to fire proesecutor Viktor Shokin. Republicans say that the halt on aid and the firing of Shokin in March 2016 was to protect Joe Biden's son, rather than part of an international coordinated anti-corruption effort in Ukraine.

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To defend Trump, Republicans have argued that Trump was justified in discussing investigations with the Ukrainian president because of corruption in Ukraine.

Following up later in the hearing, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., read part of a summary of the July 25 call where Trump asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and asked whether it sounded like what Joe Biden had done. Himes asked Kent whether Biden’s effort, as part of the entire government’s policy, was the same as Trump’s request.

“I do not,” Kent said. “I do not think they are the same things.”

Himes also drew a distinction for Trump’s request.

“I think he was trying to aim corruption in Ukraine,” Himes said, rather than end corruption.