Trump's Ukraine Scandal: What Laws Were Broken?

The Trump-Ukraine scandal was a political scandal that arose from the discovery of US President Donald Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. Trump enlisted the help of surrogates, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to support and legitimise the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics.

Trump blocked the payment of a congressionally-mandated $400 million military aid package to Ukraine in an attempt to obtain quid pro quo cooperation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The scandal reached public attention in September 2019 due to a whistleblower complaint made in August. The whistleblower alleged that Trump had used the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 election.

Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress but was later acquitted by the Senate. A non-partisan government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, concluded that the Trump administration broke the law by withholding congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine.

Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine

In July 2019, President Trump withheld $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, which had been approved by Congress. The aid was withheld for at least a week before a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the call, Trump pressured Zelenskyy to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

Trump's withholding of the military aid was part of a wider campaign by Trump, his administration, and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens. This campaign may also have included Trump cancelling a scheduled trip to Ukraine by Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump's administration claimed that the reason for withholding the aid was corruption in Ukraine and a lack of contributions from other European nations. However, these reasons were disputed, and European Union institutions provided more than twice the amount of aid to Ukraine than the US during 2016-17.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the Trump administration broke federal law by withholding the military aid. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was violated because Congress's policy had been supplanted by Trump's own policy. The GAO also concluded that the withholding was not a "programmatic delay".

The scandal led to Trump's impeachment by Congress on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress. However, he was later acquitted by the Senate.

Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden

In July 2019, President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "look into" former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Trump mentioned that there was "a lot of talk" about Biden's son and that Biden had "stopped the prosecution". He urged Zelenskyy to work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr on the matter.

This conversation raised concerns that Trump may have broken the law by asking for foreign help in the presidential campaign. A whistleblower within the intelligence community brought the matter to the attention of its official watchdog, and the House of Representatives began a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress but was later acquitted by the Senate. A non-partisan government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, concluded that the White House broke federal law by withholding Congress-approved military aid to Ukraine.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed that his call with Zelenskyy was "perfect".

Trump's actions were impeachable

Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine, which had been approved by Congress, to pressure the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, into investigating his political rival, Joe Biden, and Biden's son, Hunter Biden. Trump also wanted Zelenskyy to investigate a conspiracy theory involving a Democratic National Committee server. Trump's actions were an abuse of power and an attempt to solicit foreign electoral intervention in the 2020 US presidential election.

Trump's actions were also impeachable because they were criminal. A non-partisan government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, concluded that Trump broke the law by withholding the military aid to Ukraine. The White House broke the Impoundment Control Act by withholding the funds for a "policy reason", which is not permitted under the Act. The Constitution "specifically vests Congress with the power of the purse", and Trump, like all other presidents, "is not vested with the power to ignore or amend any such duly enacted law."

Trump's actions were also impeachable because they were in contempt of Congress. Trump was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress, but he was acquitted by the Senate.

Trump's actions were not criminal

The argument that Trump's actions were not criminal centres on the idea that the impeachment process is independent of criminal law. In the past 200 years, the impeachment process has been interpreted as separate from criminal law, and most scholars agree that an impeachable offence does not need to break the law.

In this case, Trump's actions might not have been criminal because there is no clear law on the matter. While it is generally forbidden by campaign finance laws for a US citizen to receive a benefit or value from a foreign party, it is unclear whether Trump's actions constitute a criminal violation. For this to be the case, the contribution would need to be more than $2,000. However, for it to be a civil violation, any amount—monetary or otherwise—would do.

The argument that Trump's actions were not criminal also hinges on the idea that Trump did not abuse his position to gain a competitive advantage over his adversary in the election. If he had been doing this, it would have amounted to soliciting a valuable contribution to his campaign from a foreign entity, which is forbidden by campaign finance laws. However, it could be argued that Trump was not seeking a competitive advantage, but rather pursuing justice.

Another defence of Trump's actions is that the president taking action independently from the justice department is not a frequent occurrence, and there is no statutory law prohibiting the president from personally handling legal concerns. There is also no law against the president seeking the help of a foreign authority to gather information on someone believed to be involved in a crime, even if that person is a politician or a political rival.

Finally, it is worth noting that impeachment proceedings are a political process rather than a criminal one. As such, Trump could still be impeached even if his actions were not criminal. However, this would only be possible if lawmakers think the offence rises to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanours".

Trump's actions were an abuse of power

The US Constitution allows for impeachment in three cases: treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanours. While Trump's actions in the Ukraine scandal may not have been criminal, they were certainly an abuse of power.

Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine, which had been approved by Congress, in an attempt to pressure the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, into investigating his political rival, Joe Biden, and Biden's son, Hunter Biden. This was an attempt to damage Biden's campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Trump's actions were also an abuse of power because he acted independently from the Justice Department. While it is not a crime for the President to act independently from the Justice Department, it is unusual and shows contempt for due process.

Trump's defenders, mostly Republicans, argue that his actions were not offensive enough to warrant impeachment. However, Democrats are united in their belief that Trump's actions were an impeachable abuse of office.

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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