Update to this story.
Lindsey Graham defended his decision to open an investigation into Hunter Biden amid calls from his longtime friend Joe Biden to drop it.
Graham, 64, announced that he intends to call Hunter Biden to testify about his high paying position on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas firm. The South Carolina senator was blasted by the elder Biden, 77, who said he was “embarrassed” on Graham’s behalf when he heard about the promised investigation.
While talking to reporters in South Carolina, Graham stood by his investigation and pushed back on Biden’s criticism.
“My conscious is clear, I love Joe Biden as a person, he is a really decent man. He’s had a lot of tragedy in his life, but I have a conscious very clear right now, and I have a duty,” Graham said. “If the House is going to shut it down, the Senate is going to pick it up.”
He noted that Biden’s criticisms were “not going to work” to dissuade him from investigating Hunter, even though the two have been close for years. He explained that Biden went after John McCain during the 2008 election, but the two remained friends.
“I like Joe Biden, you know, all I can say is that Joe didn’t pull any punches when he ran against McCain, that’s the way the system works,” Graham said, later adding, “I feel not only that I’m doing the right thing, I would be laying down on my job — being intimidated into doing nothing is not going to work with me … I believe that Hunter Biden’s association on that board doesn’t pass the smell test.”