Political showdown
Trump pressed Ukraine president to probe political rival: call summary
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pressed Ukraine’s president to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, in coordination with the U.S. attorney general and his personal lawyer, according to a summary of an explosive July phone call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday.
Setting up a dramatic political showdown that threatens Trump’s presidency, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said the Democratic-led chamber was launching an official impeachment inquiry and directed six committees to proceed with investigations of the president’s actions.
Democrats have accused Trump, a Republican who is seeking re-election next year, of soliciting Ukraine’s help to smear Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, before the 2020 election.
The half-hour July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy occurred after Trump had ordered the U.S. government to freeze nearly $400 million in American aid to Ukraine. The administration only later released the aid.
According to the administration’s summary, Trump told Zelenskiy that Attorney General William Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, and Rudy Giuliani would speak to him about re-opening a Ukrainian investigation into a Ukrainian gas company for which Biden’s son Hunter had served as director.
“The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great,” Trump said, referring to Barr.
In the summary, Trump never explicitly tells the Ukrainian president that the U.S. aid is contingent upon him investigating Biden, but Trump emphasizes the importance of American financial support before pressing him for action on Biden.
“I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine,” Trump said. Trump then said German Chancellor Angela Merkel “doesn’t do anything” for Ukraine but that “the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine.”
According to the summary, Zelenskiy responds that Trump is “1,000%” right, and thanks Trump for “your great support in the area of defense” and expresses interest in making another U.S. arms purchase.
In raising the Biden issue, Trump tells Zelenskiy that “I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair.” He said he have Giuliani - “a highly respected man - and Barr call him.
“Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it. It sounds horrible to me,” Trump said.
Zelenskiy assures Trump that his next prosecutor general “will look into the situation.”
“I’m sure you will figure it out,” Trump tells him, according to the summary.
Zelenskiy then volunteers that the “last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park and I stayed at the Trump Tower,” one of the president’s businesses, according to the summary.
“I also want to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation,” Zelenskiy added.
Trump never actually asked Barr to contact Ukraine, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said, and Barr has not communicated with Ukraine about a possible investigation or any other subject. Barr, a Trump appointee, first found out about the conversation several weeks after it took place, Kupec said.
The House inquiry could lead to articles of impeachment in the House that could trigger a trial in the Senate on whether to remove Trump from office.
Pelosi said the notes of the call confirm that Trump engaged in behavior that undermines the integrity of U.S. elections, the dignity of presidency and American national security.
“The President has tried to make lawlessness a virtue in America and now is exporting it abroad . ... It is not part of his job to use taxpayer money to shake down other countries for the benefit of his campaign,” Pelosi said.
Trump has repeatedly suggested wrongdoing by Biden and his son but has offered no evidence to back up the assertion.
Former White House and national security officials have said any summary released by the administration is not likely to be verbatim or transcribed from a recording. Instead, it is likely to be complied from written notes taken by U.S. officials who listened in on the conversation, they said.
REPEATED SCANDALS
Trump has withstood repeated scandals since taking office in 2017. House Democrats had considered, but never moved ahead with, pursuing articles of impeachment over Trump’s actions relating to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election aimed at boosting his candidacy.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the House has the power to impeach a president for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” No president has ever been removed from office through impeachment. Democrats currently control the House and Trump’s fellow Republicans control the Senate.
Justice Department officials concluded last week that Trump’s conduct on the call did not amount to a criminal violation of campaign finance law because what he was asking for - an investigation of a political rival - did not amount to a quantifiable “thing of value,” said a senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.