New whistleblower in Trump scandal

US President Donald Trump is facing renewed pressure over his dealings with Ukraine after it emerged there is a second whistleblower with firsthand knowledge of the allegations.

News of the second whistleblower broke yesterday amid signs of increasing anxiety among Republican senators, as Democrats pressed on with impeachment proceedings.

The existence of the second whistleblower was announced by the legal team representing the original complainant who accused Trump of piling pressure on Ukraine’s President to investigate Joe Biden, one of Trump’s Democratic rivals.

“I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying . . . disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General,” posted Andrew Bakaj, of Compass Rose Legal Group.

Last month a CIA whistleblower came forward raising concern about a call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the newly elected Ukrainian leader, in which Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate Biden, a favourite for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

Trump has claimed that Hunter Biden profited in his business dealings in both Ukraine and China from his father’s position, although there has been no evidence of any wrongdoing.

It has been alleged that Trump leveraged US$400 million ($633m) in military aid in an attempt to secure Zelenskiy’s co-operation.

Trump has maintained the allegations are little more than a political stunt by Democrats, and with Republicans controlling the Senate he appears safe from being forced out of office.

However, several leading Republicans have been critical of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.