GOP Rep. Flails During CNN Anchor’s Brutal Fact Check on Biden Impeachment

Accusing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) of peddling dishonest “talking points,” CNN anchor Boris Sanchez repeatedly fact-checked the MAGA lawmaker’s “false” claims about President Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s foreign business dealings on Wednesday.

With the House’s impeachment inquiry losing steam after the GOP’s star witness was charged with lying to the FBI about the president accepting millions of dollars in bribes from Ukrainian oligarchs, Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door congressional deposition on Wednesday. In his opening remarks, which were released to the press, the presidential scion came out swinging.

“I did not involve my father in my business,” he said, adding: “For more than a year, your committees have hunted me in your partisan political pursuit of my dad. You have trafficked in innuendo, distortion, and sensationalism—all the while ignoring the clear and convincing evidence staring you in the face.”

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Still, while House Democrats characterized the deposition of the president’s son as a “deep sea fishing expedition” that reinforced the notion that the impeachment push was a “tremendous waste” of time, Republicans continued to insist there was fire behind all their smoke. “This was a bribe masquerading as an international business transaction—nothing more, nothing less,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) declared.

Burchett, a member of the House Oversight Committee, appeared on CNN to discuss the deposition while Hunter Biden was still testifying behind closed doors. Right off the bat, the interview grew tense when the congressman asserted that “$20 million flowed through” the president’s family from “Chinese communists and others,” prompting the CNN anchor to quickly push back.

“I’m curious about the $20 million, sir, because the actual bank records show that $15 million of that money actually went to Biden family associates, not the Biden family. About $5 million of it did go to Hunter,” Sanchez noted. “But I’m curious, specifically, how much of that money you‘re alleging went to Vice President Joe Biden back when he was in the White House?”

Quickly pivoting to claims that the Biden family ran “20 so-called shell companies,” the Tennessee Republican invoked personal loans that both Hunter Biden and the president’s brother James paid back to the president. Sanchez, however, pointed out that Burchett was deliberately mixing up the two loans.

“Those two are conflated though, because the $200,000 was—according to documents that are coming out from the Oversight Committee—a loan that Joe Biden gave to his brother, James. That was then paid back. The documents support that it was a loan. And that also happened in 2017 when Joe Biden was not vice president,” Sanchez stated. “And then you have the pickup truck money that was apparently given to Hunter Biden when he was struggling through his addiction, and that money was then given back by Hunter to his father,” he continued. “Also supported by documentation, also happening in 2018 when Mike Pence was vice president.”

When the anchor circled back to his original question for Burchett—how much money he alleges then-Vice President Biden made from his family’s business dealings while in the White House—the conservative lawmaker only continued to obfuscate.

“I don’t know, but if it’s a dollar and he‘s lied about it and you‘ve got to ask what was the influence there. What is the brand? The brand is the Biden family,” Burchett replied. “The brand is they’re not selling a service, they’re not selling a product. He has no qualifications for this, the only reason he was there was because he was Joe Biden’s son or he was Joe Biden’s brother.”

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Continuing to harp about Hunter Biden’s purported lack of experience, Burchett then took a shot at Sanchez’s network. “Now come on, I know you are CNN, but the reality is—,” he snidely remarked.

The exchange got only more heated from there. After Sanchez reiterated that the Oversight Committee has shown “zero evidence” that the president “abused his power” while vice president or “enriched his family members,” Burchett went right back to mentioning shell companies.

“There’s $20 million that flowed through. You saw these accounts,” Burchett exclaimed.

“That’s incorrect,” Sanchez retorted. “I looked at the bank records. They don’t say that Joe Biden got any money. Have you read the bank records? I’m not going to let you say things that are untrue, sir!”

At one point, Burchett grumbled that Sanchez wasn’t letting him answer the questions, leading the CNN host to fire back: “But you‘re not giving me an honest answer, sir, you are repeating a talking point!”

Whether it was dismissing the importance of former Hunter Biden associate Tony Bobulinski’s testimony or decimating Burchett’s claims about certain business records, Sanchez seemed to have a counter for every single allegation that Burchett attempted to float.

At the end of the heated ten-minute exchange, though, the two of them made sure to part on amicable terms. “I’ve enjoyed the discussion,” Sanchez said, inviting the congressman to return.

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