Top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine says Burisma probe sought to hurt Joe Biden

The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, told lawmakers he believed the push to investigate Ukrainian energy company Burisma and its ties to Hunter Biden was motivated by a desire to attack Hunter's father, former Vice President Joe Biden.

"As I understood the reason for investigating Burisma was to cast Vice President Biden in a bad light," Taylor said, according to a transcript of closed-door testimony he delivered as part of an impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. The committees leading the probe released the transcript on Wednesday.

Biden is a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, making him one of President Donald Trump's main political rivals.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)