During an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” on Friday, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) argued against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden being participants in a potential U.S. Senate impeachment hearing.

Hirono called allegations the Bidens benefited off of the office of the vice presidency during the elder Biden’s tenure in the Obama administration a “conspiracy theory.”

“Well, that continues the whole conspiracy theory that the Republicans keep pushing, that’s been debunked,” she said. “You know, you asked earlier that is this going to waylay the focus of the impeachment proceedings. Yes, that will. So this whole idea of the conspiracy — pushing forth the conspiracy theory — you know, that’s not what the impeachment proceeding should be all about.

“You know, one thing the Republicans should do — which they haven’t done this — they ought to focus on what I call ‘the this’ — ‘the this’ being what the president did to shake down the president of another country,” Hirono added. “They’re just always focused on what about that, what about that, what about that. But they’re now focused on what about this? What did the president do?”

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