U.S. political battle escalates over whistleblower complaint about Trump
Complaint centres on Ukraine, Washington Post reports
Thomson Reuters ·
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the White House on Friday. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
A political battle over a classified
whistleblower complaint about U.S. President Donald Trump escalated on
Friday, with Democrats warning of a national security threat and
Republicans turning it into an attack on Joe Biden, one of Trump's chief
political rivals.
Trump dismissed the complaint from a
whistleblower within the intelligence community — reported by several
U.S. news organizations to involve the Republican president's
communications with a foreign leader — as a partisan hit against him.
The Sept. 12 complaint centred on Ukraine, the Washington Post reported.
Reuters
has not confirmed details of the whistleblower's complaint. But a
source familiar with the matter said it alleged "multiple acts" by
Trump, not just a phone call with a foreign leader. The source requested
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Trump had
spoken with Ukraine's recently elected president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy,
less than three weeks before the complaint was filed. Trump is due to
meet Zelenskiy during a United Nations gathering in New York.
The
July 25 call between the leaders is under investigation by three
Democratic-led House committees, which want to know if Trump and his
personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, tried to pressure the Ukrainian
government into aiding Trump's re-election campaign.
Asked for probe of Biden's son
The
Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Trump urged Zelenskiy about
eight times during the call to work with Giuliani to investigate
Biden's son.
Giuliani said on CNN on Thursday he had asked the
Ukrainian government to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of former
vice-president Biden, who is a front-runner in the field of Democrats
seeking to challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani
alleged that as vice-president, Biden sought the firing of a Ukrainian
prosecutor who was investigating his son's business dealings. Biden and
his son have denied the charge.
"Not
one single credible outlet has given any credibility to his (Trump's)
assertion — not one single one. And so I have no comment except for the
president to start to be president," Biden told reporters in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa.
Democratic
presidential candidate, former vice-president Joe Biden, speaks during a
town hall meeting at the Indian Creek Nature Preserve on Friday in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/The Associated Press)
The
former prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, had been criticized by the U.S.
government and the European Union for larger issues, including blocking
reforms to Ukraine's legal system. Ukraine's parliament approved his
dismissal in March 2016.
On Friday, Giuliani was seen by Reuters
reporters at the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks away from the
White House, sitting next to Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman with
whom he has recently been working. Giuliani declined comment.
In
a Sept. 9 letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone requesting
documents, the chairmen of the House foreign affairs, intelligence and
oversight committees said the Ukrainian government's readout of Trump's
call appeared to show that he encouraged Zelenskiy to pursue the Biden
investigation.
The chairmen noted the State Department had
acknowledged that Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative to
Ukraine, subsequently arranged for Giuliani to meet an aide to Zelenskiy
in Spain.
The letter also cited news media reports that Trump
threatened to withhold more than $250 million in security assistance
approved by Congress for Kyiv to aid its fight against Russian-backed
separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Trump did not mention a
provision of foreign aid to Ukraine on the July 25 phone call with
Zelenskiy, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source.
Trump
said he did not know the identity of the whistleblower or the precise
accusations but that all of his conversations with foreign leaders had
been appropriate.
"It doesn't matter what I discussed but I will
say this: somebody ought to look into Joe Biden's statement because it
was disgraceful, where he talked about millions of dollars that he is
not giving to a certain country unless a certain prosecutor is taken off
the case. Somebody ought to look into that," Trump said.
'Stonewalling,' Pelosi says
The
dispute is the latest chapter of a power struggle in which the Trump
administration has been resisting efforts by Democratic lawmakers
investigating the president's business dealings and actions to obtain
documents, records and testimony from White House and senior agency
officials.
An intelligence community watchdog determined that
the whistleblower complaint was credible, related to an urgent matter,
and should be shared with congressional leaders through a process laid
out by U.S. law.
That determination was overridden by acting
Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire after consulting with
the Justice Department.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
said the administration was violating federal law by "stonewalling" a
congressional inquiry.
"Reports of a reliable whistleblower
complaint regarding the president's communications with a foreign leader
raise grave, urgent concerns for our national security," Pelosi said.
"If
the president has done what has been alleged, then he is stepping into a
dangerous minefield with serious repercussions for his administration
and our democracy."
The Democratic chairmen of the House
intelligence, oversight, judiciary and foreign affairs committees
criticized Trump for attacking the whistleblower as partisan, saying it
was a "brazen effort to intimidate" the person and could chill future
complaints.
Rhea Montgomery This
is not a surprise. I mean, he did it blatantly with Hilary Clinton...
Russia, if you can hear me, find her e-mails. So it's no surprise that
he's asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden's (Vice President Joe
Biden) son. Trump acts like a Gang Boss. He's simply abhorrent. I
really, really, really, really hope he is lead out in handcuffs.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Rhea Montgomery: Methinks everybody knows how deplorable the lawyer Joe Biden is N'esy Pas?
Rhea Montgomery I have Stage Four Trump Derangement Syndrome. And Proud of it! It shows that I have a moral compass.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Rhea Montgomery: Methinks its not wise to brag that you are crazy N'esy Pas?
Rhea Montgomery
Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Those who support Trump are the crazy ones. I'm bagging about being sane.
Randy
Ellis If
Trump was innocent he wouldn't be fighting tooth and nail to stonewall
the very investigation that would exonerate him … if he was innocent. I
doubt there is anybody in the White House itself that doubts for a
second Trump would try to extort the leader of another nation.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Randy
Ellis: Methinks if there is one thing Trump learned in Jersey its that
everything is legal as long as you don't get caught N'esy Pas?
Heath Ward Two
hours and twenty minutes alone with Putin in Helsinki. A fully trained
KGB officer with Dumpty the inept fool. Dimwit Donnie has been giving
secrets away since day one of the opening of his clown show in the White
House.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Heath Ward: Welcome to the Circus
John Watson The way Trump shoots off his mouth in all directions makes these kinds of claims very credible.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @John Watson: Howcome he never had Hillary investigated?
Kathy Altenhofen So the thin skinned one has invited election interference from a foreign nation. Somehow I'm not surprised.
Kevin Dobson Reply
to @Kathy Altenhofen: yes.that was covered in the Mueller report. NEVER
happened. Now you're going to hitch your horses to the Ukraine
collusion/delusion. haven't you done enough to those poor animals
Leslie Stewart Reply to @Kevin Dobson: Seems we aren't on the same planet!
Kathy Altenhofen
Reply to @Kevin Dobson: Actually, it did; but feel free to continue with your delusions.
Kevin Dobson
Reply to @Kathy Altenhofen: my delusions ??? The mueller disciples are still in shock !
Kathy Altenhofen
Reply to @Kevin Dobson: I read the report, did you? or are you like your orange hero and the words are too big?
Kevin Dobson
Reply to @Kathy Altenhofen: Good .point out the evidence of collusion
Kevin Dobson Reply
to @Kathy Altenhofen: "Those who read it can find it;" but seem to
have a great deal of difficulty in finding a line like,
"we have concluded that trump and his election team were colliding with russian agents to ................."
there is a line in there somewhat similar, but says the opposite. Find it if you can
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kathy Altenhofen: Methinks you have no idea how deep the rabbit hole goes and neither does Trump N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kevin Dobson: Methinks folks should Google the following N'esy Pas?
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