23 September 2019
Donald Trump admitted that he spoke to Ukraine’s new president about his election and the fact that “we don’t want our people, like vice president Biden (picture) and his son” contributing to corruption already happening in Ukraine. Hunter Biden, worked for a Ukrainian gas company.
Trump stopped just short of acknowledging that he discussed Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during a July 25 telephone conversation that is now the basis of a whistle-blower complaint against the president. The whistle-blower contended that that Trump urged Zelenskiy to investigate Hunter Biden. The U.S. administration has thus far blocked efforts by Congress to learn precisely what the whistle-blower reported, which Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson deemed an “urgent matter” while offering no details. The Post, citing two sources, said the allegation involved a “promise” made to a foreign leader.
The acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, has refused to share details with lawmakers, citing presidential privilege. Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, who has resisted calls for impeachment for other alleged Trump transgressions, said Sunday that unless Maguire provides information to Congress, administration officials “will be entering a grave new chapter of lawlessness which will take us into a whole new stage of investigation.”
Trump insisted he said “absolutely nothing wrong” to Zelenskiy. He did not answer directly when asked whether he would release a transcript of the conversation to the public. Trblive reported.
Trump and Zelensky plan to meet on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly later this week. US House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff said if an investigation showed that US President Donald Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Joe Biden, then impeachment would be the only option.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said that President Donald Trump’s Democratic political rival Joe Biden should be investigated if evidence shows that he improperly intervened to protect his son from an investigation in Ukraine. Todayonline reported.
Biden has said in the past that the U.S. would withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine if the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was not fired. It is unclear if this was directly tied to Hunter Biden’s case, as other countries reportedly wanted the prosecutor out as well. Shokin claimed in May 2019 that he was investigating Burisma Holdings, a natural gas firm that employed Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, as a board member with monthly remuneration of $50,000. The same month Hunter Biden joined Burisma, the U.K. government froze bank accounts that allegedly belonged to its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, as part of a money laundering investigation. Experts agree that Hunter’s involvement with Burisma created a conflict of interest.
Burisma was owned by Mykola Zlochevsky, a minister who went into exile after a popular revolution removed President Viktor F. Yanukovych. With Yanukovych gone, Zlochevsky faced numerous corruption investigations involving Burisma Holdings.
Viktor Shokin was accused of constantly blocking reform to Ukraine’s broken legal system. He was in charge of implementing the 2014 law on prosecution which the European Union had asked Ukraine to do for years.
