Kara Sears
In July 2019, then-US President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. This was an attempt to damage Biden's campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
Trump's request was part of a broader effort to pressure Ukraine into supporting and legitimising a conspiracy theory about Biden and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics.
Trump's actions led to a formal impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, which charged him with abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress. However, he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of incident | 25 July 2019 |
| Involved parties | Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden |
| Nature of allegations | Improperly seeking help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election |
| Outcome | Impeachment, cleared of charges |
What You'll Learn
Trump's request for a favour
In July 2019, President Trump urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden. This was a problem because it is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.
The call came shortly after Trump blocked the release of military aid to Ukraine, and a senior official later testified that the release of this aid was conditional on Biden being investigated. However, the White House denies this.
A rough transcript of the call later revealed that Trump had urged Zelensky to investigate corruption allegations against Biden, as well as his son, Hunter Biden. Trump and his allies suggested that Biden, as Barack Obama's vice-president, encouraged the firing of Ukraine's top prosecutor in 2015 because he had been investigating an energy company which employed Hunter Biden.
At the time, Hunter Biden was criticised for working closely with foreign-owned entities while his father was in the White House, leaving his father exposed to suggestions of a possible conflict of interest. However, no evidence emerged that Biden did anything to intentionally benefit his son, nor is there any evidence of wrongdoing by Hunter Biden.
Trump's direct request that Zelensky work with his personal lawyer and use Ukraine's government resources to investigate his political opponent served no apparent purpose other than to benefit Trump's reelection efforts. In other words, Trump solicited a campaign contribution from Zelensky.
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Trump's impeachment
In 2019, a scandal emerged regarding then-President Donald Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. This was an attempt to damage Biden's campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
Trump enlisted the help of his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to support and legitimize the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics.
In July 2019, Trump blocked the release of a congressionally-mandated $400 million military aid package to Ukraine. A transcript of a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Trump requested investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as a conspiracy theory involving a Democratic National Committee server.
The scandal came to light when a whistleblower report revealed that Trump had asked Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens. The whistleblower's complaint prompted a referral to the Department of Justice Criminal Division. Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress but was later acquitted by the Senate.
Trump's actions constituted a violation of campaign finance law, as he solicited a "thing of value" from a foreign national. This is defined as "any 'thing of value' given to affect an election". The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has held that intangible items like opposition research can be considered things of value.
Trump's request for a "favor" from Zelenskyy was a direct request to use Ukraine's resources to benefit his reelection efforts. This served no apparent purpose other than to benefit his campaign.
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Trump's alleged abuse of power
In July 2019, former US President Donald Trump was accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to dig up damaging information on a political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. This was significant as Biden was the frontrunner to take on Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump urged Zelenskyy to investigate discredited corruption allegations against Biden, who, as Barack Obama's vice-president, was alleged to have encouraged the firing of Ukraine's top prosecutor in 2015 because he had been investigating an energy company, Burisma, which employed Hunter Biden.
Trump's request was an abuse of executive power and a violation of campaign finance law, as he was soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national. Trump also blocked the release of military aid to Ukraine, which a senior official later testified was conditional on Biden being investigated.
Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress, but was acquitted by the Senate.
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Trump's alleged obstruction of Congress
In 2019, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The obstruction charge was based on the Trump administration's refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas and requests for information.
The Trump White House's blanket refusal to comply with congressional requests and subpoenas was described as "unprecedented" and a "dangerous vision of a presidency left unchecked and unscrutinized". The administration's defiance of Congress was not limited to the White House, with executive branch agencies also refusing to cooperate with investigations.
In April 2019, Trump stated that his administration would be "fighting all the subpoenas". The following month, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote to the House Judiciary Committee, stating that current and former administration officials would not be permitted to testify before Congress. This was followed by former White House lawyer Don McGahn ignoring a House Judiciary Committee subpoena, and the White House directing Annie Donaldson (McGahn's former chief of staff) and Hope Hicks (former White House communications director) to ignore subpoenas for testimony and documents.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also refused to turn over the president's tax returns, and Attorney General William Barr failed to appear at a Judiciary Committee hearing, defying a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report. Barr also directed Justice Department official John Gore not to comply with a subpoena for testimony about the department's involvement in adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
In 2022, a federal judge ruled that Trump "more likely than not" attempted to illegally obstruct Congress as part of a criminal conspiracy when he tried to subvert the 2020 election on January 6, 2021. The judge, David Carter, stated that Trump's plan, which was developed with lawyer John Eastman, was "obviously illegal" and would have "effectively ended American democracy" if it had succeeded.
Trump was impeached by Congress but was acquitted by the Senate.
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Whistleblower complaints
The scandal came to light when a whistleblower report revealed that President Trump had asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July 2019 to investigate Joe Biden, Trump's political opponent in the 2020 presidential election, his son Hunter Biden, and company CrowdStrike. The whistleblower complaint was filed on August 12, 2019, by a CIA officer detailed to the White House. The complaint was eventually released to congressional intelligence committees on September 25, 2019, and a redacted version of the complaint was made public the next day.
In the complaint, the whistleblower said Trump abused the powers of his office for personal gain and put national security in danger, and that White House officials engaged in a cover-up. The whistleblower wrote:
> "In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election. This interference includes, among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President's main domestic political rivals."
The whistleblower further alleged in the complaint that White House officials had tried to limit access to the record of Trump's telephone conversation with Zelenskyy, writing:
> "In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. officials that senior White House officials had intervened to 'lock down' all records of the phone call, especially the word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced—as is customary—by the White House Situation Room. This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call."
The whistleblower's complaint prompted a referral to the Department of Justice Criminal Division. The Justice Department's review looked into whether there was evidence of a campaign violation law, and did not look into possible violations of federal corruption statutes. The Justice Department determined that Trump's conduct did not constitute the solicitation of a quantifiable "thing of value" subject to the campaign finance laws.
The White House corroborated allegations raised by the whistleblower. A transcript of the Trump–Zelenskyy call confirmed Trump requested investigations into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, as well as a conspiracy theory involving a Democratic National Committee server, while urging Zelenskyy to work with Giuliani and Barr on this.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Trump broke the law by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. This is classed as soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national, which is illegal.
Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress, but was acquitted by the Senate.
In August 2019, an anonymous whistleblower filed a complaint about the phone call between Trump and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, which took place on 25 July 2019. The whistleblower alleged that Trump had used "the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country" in the 2020 election.
