:
As part of the loan agreement with Ukraine, then Vice President Joe Biden was the driving force behind tying a loan to the ouster of the Ukraine prosecutor at the center of an investigation of Burisma, an energy company where his son Hunter Biden sat on the board. According to reports, Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in much-needed US loan guarantee assistance unless Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko removed Viktor Shokin, Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, who was heading an investigation into Burisma. In the end, Poroshenko forced Shokin to resign. Biden has defended his actions by arguing the loan and investigation were unrelated and his motivations for urging the ouster of the prosecutor due to Shokin’s lack of enthusiasm for combating corruption in Ukraine. The brewing scandal amid the 2020 presidential race has become a major point of contention, as some, including Republicans, allege that Biden was using his influence as vice president to aid his son’s business by ending the investigation.
