Published 09:17 IST, September 23rd 2019
Trump acknowledges discussing rival Biden in call with Ukrainian Prez
US President Donald Trump acknowledged on September 22, that he discussed former vice president Joseph Biden with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
US President Donald Trump acknowledged on September 22, that he discussed former vice president Joseph Biden with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, as Democrats increased calls for a probe into whether he inappropriately pressurized a foreign leader to investigate a political opponent. On the other hand, Trump defended his phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine as perfectly appropriate, making sure that Biden came up during the discussion and accused the former vice president of corruption charges along with with his son Hunter's business activities in the former Soviet Republic.
Trump: The conversation was great and congratulatory
Trump said that the conversation was great and congratulatory. Both the leaders discussed the increase of corruption and about Vice President Biden and his son creating the corruption already in Ukraine. Though President Trump did not confirm any news reports that he pressured Zelensky for an investigation. A news source reported that Trump urged Zelensky eight times during the July 25 phone call to coordinate with the president's lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, on an investigation of Biden and his son.
Giuliani has publicly accepted forcing Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens and Trump told some reporters on Friday that the former vice president should be investigated without any further discussion of whether it came up during the phone call. The president’s interest over the summer in a Ukrainian investigation into Biden, who will challenge Trump in next year's elections contradicted with his government's decision to put on hold $250 million in security aid to Ukraine. But there are no direct indications that Trump mentioned the money over the call. The President ultimately agreed to release the money after coming under bipartisan pressure from Congress.
President Trump's interactions generated an intense interest
The President's interactions with Ukraine are a part of whistleblower's complaint that has generated a deep interest on Capitol Hill. The authorities have refused to release the complaint to Congress. Trump said on Sunday that he would love to release a transcript of the call. The probe heightened pressure on Democrats to impeach Trump. Adam B. Schiff, representative of California said that this is the most profound violation of the presidential oath of office ever during this presidency. Schiff said the impeachment of Trump is the only way out if Trump really withholds the Ukrainian aid in the hopes that the country would pursue an investigation into the Biden family.
Updated 12:22 IST, September 23rd 2019