Read the whistleblower complaint against President Trump over Ukraine dealings
A whistleblower complaint has been released regarding President Donald Trump’s efforts to push the president of Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son.
The House Intelligence Committee released a declassified, redacted version of the complaint, which prompted an investigation leading to an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, on Thursday morning.
Early reactions
“It appears there was an attempted coverup,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, CNN reported.
But Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., called it an “information warfare campaign” by Democrats, according to the network.
“Once again, this supposed scandal ends up being nothing like what we were told,” Nunes said.
Who is the whistleblower?
It’s still a secret. Members of Congress at a hearing with Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire on Thursday referred to the whistleblower as “he or she,” CNN reported.
Maguire called the whistleblower “he” several times, but said “I do not know the identity of the whistleblower.”
The call
A partial transcript released Thursday by the White House of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shows Trump asked Zelensky to work with the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Biden, The Washington Post reported.
Trump and other Republicans have accused Biden of trying to oust a Ukrainian prosecutor who had reportedly once investigated the owner of an oil company on whose board his son, Hunter Biden, serves, CNBC reported.
Joe Biden has said he was one of several world leaders who sought to have the prosecutor removed over accusations of corruption, not over the reported probe of the oil company owner, according to the network. Hunter Biden has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In the July 25 call, Trump also suggested that Zelensky investigate Hillary Clinton and a separate probe headed by former special counsel Robert Mueller, The Washington Post reported.
After Zelensky says he will order Biden investigated, Trump invites him to visit the White House, according to the publication. But the two do not discuss a $400 million military aid package to Ukraine that Trump had earlier put on hold. The money was later released to Ukraine.
A whistleblower reported the call as a possible “quid-pro-quo” attempt to solicit a foreign leader’s help in attacking a political rival in return for U.S. aid, prompting an investigation, The Washington Post reported.
In a meeting with Trump before the press on Wednesday in New York, Zelensky said “nobody pushed me” during the call, Fox News reported.
In a later press conference, Trump derided the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
Impeachment inquiry underway
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House of Representatives would launch a formal impeachment inquiry, saying Trump had betrayed his official oath and the security of the nation in seeking Ukraine’s help in discrediting Biden, McClatchy news group reported.
“The actions of the Trump presidency reveal the dishonorable fact of his betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Pelosi said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. “Therefore, today, I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an impeachment inquiry.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Read the whistleblower complaint against President Trump over Ukraine dealings."