Anaya Nolan
In 2019, President Trump was accused of breaking the law by asking Ukraine's leader to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. Trump urged Ukraine's president to dig up damaging information on Biden, who was a frontrunner to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. This was illegal because it is against the law to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election. Trump was impeached in December 2019, but was ultimately cleared.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Law broken | Seeking foreign help to smear a political rival |
| Asking foreign entities for help in winning a US election | |
| Soliciting a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a political rival | |
| Withholding military aid to Ukraine | |
| Impeachment | Impeached in December |
| Cleared in trial | |
| Campaign finance law | Department of Justice determined the call did not constitute a violation |
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What You'll Learn
Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating Biden
In July 2019, President Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. Trump also enlisted surrogates in and outside his administration, including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to cooperate in supporting and legitimising the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory.
Trump was impeached in December 2019, but was ultimately cleared. Department of Justice officials in the agency's criminal division concluded that the call did not constitute a campaign finance violation, as what Trump was asking for did not amount to a "thing of value" as the law requires.
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Trump's conversation with the Ukrainian president
In July 2019, President Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. Trump also enlisted surrogates in and outside his administration, including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to cooperate in supporting and legitimising the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory.
Trump was accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on a political rival. Congressional Democrats said the phone call was proof Mr Trump broke the law by seeking foreign help to try to smear Mr Biden. However, there was debate over whether soliciting opposition research from a foreign government constituted an impeachable offence.
Prosecutors from the Department of Justice reviewed a transcript of the call and determined the president did not violate campaign finance law. They determined that what Trump was asking Zelenskyy for did not amount to a "thing of value" as the law requires.
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The Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory
In July 2019, President Trump urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to investigate one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. Congressional Democrats said that this was proof that Mr Trump broke the law by seeking foreign help to try to smear Mr Biden. They argued that it is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.
Trump denied any wrongdoing and said that what he was asking for did not amount to a "thing of value" as required by law. Department of Justice officials in the agency's criminal division and prosecutors from the department reviewed a transcript of the call and determined that the president did not violate campaign finance law.
Trump enlisted surrogates in and outside his administration, including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to cooperate in supporting and legitimising the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics.
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Trump's impeachment trial
In July 2019, President Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. Trump was accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on a political rival. Congressional Democrats said that this was proof that Trump broke the law by seeking foreign help to try to smear Biden. However, there was debate over whether soliciting opposition research from a foreign government constituted an impeachable offence.
Trump's conversation with the Ukrainian president was first brought to the attention of the attorney general "several weeks after the call took place", when the Justice Department received a referral about potential criminal conduct. Prosecutors from the department reviewed a transcript of the call and determined that the president did not violate campaign finance law. They concluded that what Trump was asking Zelenskyy for did not amount to a "thing of value" as the law requires.
Trump was impeached in December 2019, and a trial took place that could have led to him being removed from office. However, he was ultimately cleared.
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Trump's alleged abuse of power
Trump was accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on Joe Biden, his political rival. In July 2019, he urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to investigate one of the frontrunners to take him on in the 2020 presidential election. Congressional Democrats said the phone call was proof Mr Trump broke the law by seeking foreign help to try to smear Mr Biden. However, there was debate over whether soliciting opposition research from a foreign government constituted an impeachable offence.
Trump was impeached in December 2019, but was cleared after a trial. Department of Justice officials in the agency's criminal division concluded that the call did not constitute a campaign finance violation, as what Trump was asking for did not amount to a "thing of value" as the law requires. However, Democrats raised broader concerns about whether Trump solicited a foreign leader to dig up dirt on Biden, and why Trump withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine before the call with Zelenskyy.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, according to Congressional Democrats, who said that Trump broke the law by seeking foreign help to try to smear Biden. However, there was debate over whether soliciting opposition research from a foreign government constituted an impeachable offence.
Trump was cleared.
Trump and his supporters alleged that Biden abused his power to pressure Ukraine to back away from a criminal investigation that could implicate his son, Hunter, who worked for a Ukrainian energy company.
No, these allegations were widely discredited. There is no evidence that Mr Biden took any action to intentionally benefit his son, nor is there any evidence of wrongdoing by Hunter Biden.
No, according to prosecutors from the Department of Justice, who reviewed a transcript of the call and determined that what Trump was asking for did not amount to a "thing of value" as the law requires.
