trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/IGpynMmI1LdKs4aVguplTg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Trump asked Ukraine president to 'look into' Biden allegations, document shows

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Trump asked Ukraine president to 'look into' Biden allegations, document shows

U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July to work with U.S. Attorney General William Barr and "look into" allegations involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, according to a memorandum of a phone call between the two leaders that has become a central part of an impeachment inquiry launched by Democrats in Congress.

Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, previously alleged that Biden had sought to oust Ukraine's top prosecutor to protect Biden's son from being investigated. Biden, who is running as a Democrat for president in 2020, was the point person in the Obama administration in relation to Ukraine while his son was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great," Trump purportedly told Zelensky during the July 25 phone call that lasted 30 minutes.

"Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution, so if you can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me," Trump added, according to the released document. The White House on Sept. 25 published the memorandum, which carried a disclaimer saying it was not "a verbatim transcript" of the phone call.

Zelensky said that the next Ukrainian prosecutor would "look into the situation" and asked Trump for any additional information that the U.S. could provide, according to the memo.

Trump said Barr and Giuliani would have another phone call with Zelensky.

Media reports about the call prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to announce Sept. 24 that the House of Representatives was starting an impeachment inquiry into Trump over alleged abuse of power. Pelosi, who directed six House committees to proceed with ongoing investigations under the umbrella of impeachment inquiry, said that Trump's actions "revealed the dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections."

Trump on Sept. 24 denied that he had pressured Zelensky to probe Biden, saying their phone call was "very friendly and totally appropriate."