Former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin claimed that his termination in 2016 was a direct result of his probe into Burisma, an energy company that had Hunter Biden on its board.

In 2016, Petro Poroshenko, who was then the Ukrainian president, removed Shokin from his position. Shokin, who had been appointed just a year earlier, faced allegations of corruption and was under pressure from the United States, spearheaded by then-Vice President Joe Biden.

"I have said repeatedly in my previous interviews that Poroshenko fired me at the insistence of the then Vice President Biden because I was investigating Burisma," Shokin said in the interview with Fox News.

Shokin expressed his belief that both Joe and Hunter Biden received bribes in connection to the case, though he stopped short of offering conclusive evidence to back his claims.

"I do not want to deal in unproven facts, but my firm personal conviction is that, yes, this was the case," Shokin said.

Biden's Role Questioned

It's no secret that, after leaving the White House, Biden openly spoke about pressuring Ukrainian officials by threatening to hold back a whopping $1 billion in aid if Shokin wasn't dismissed.

This explicit admission has led many to question the depth of Biden's involvement, with some suggesting his role may have been more direct and influential than previously believed.

Furthermore, Shokin alleges that he was rigorously investigating Burisma and its influential owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, during his tenure.

This claim was validated by a 2016 Kyiv Post report highlighting a legal action initiated by Shokin's office to confiscate Zlochevsky's assets.

The lens of scrutiny also focuses on Hunter Biden's affiliation with the energy company. Serving on its board from 2014 to 2019, Hunter was reportedly sought for assistance when the company faced investigative pressures.

During a closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing in July, Hunter's ex-business associate, Devon Archer, stated that Burisma executives sought Hunter's aid under investigation pressures. Archer revealed that Hunter reached out to D.C. to push for Shokin's removal.

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (KY-01), has postulated that Hunter might have used Joe Biden's global reputation to advance business interests, raising further questions about the former vice president's knowledge of his son's dealings.

Countering Claims and Seeking Truth

In a quick rebuttal, White House spokesperson Ian Sams labeled Shokin's claims as regurgitated falsehoods.

He highlighted past criticisms of Shokin's office, describing it as a "hotbed of corruption," and pointed to the voices from various quarters, including U.S. diplomats and both Republican and Democratic senators, who called for reforms and changes in his office.

Several prominent publications, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, have previously reported that Shokin's office wasn't actively investigating Burisma or Hunter Biden during his final days as prosecutor general.

They've also emphasized that Shokin faced backlash for his apparent leniency towards corrupt officials during Viktor Yanukovych's presidency.

Testimony from federal officials such Victoria Nuland and Bridget Brink in a 2020 Senate hearing corroborated this view. Nuland notably said that the U.S. government was disappointed with the lack of progress in the Burisma investigations.