Accused by a whistleblower of repeatedly urging his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky, during a phone interview, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, Donald Trump denounced Friday, September 20 a case "ridiculous".
"It's ridiculous, it's a partial whistleblower," the US president replied from the Oval Office, while assuring that he did not know his identity. "I had conversations with many leaders, they are always irreproachable," he continued, very reassembled.
The folder, potentially explosive, still remains surrounded by many gray areas. According to the Washington Post and the New York Times, the conversation with a foreign leader reported by the whistleblower concerned Ukraine.
Congressional politicians are wondering about a telephone conversation in July between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump, during this appeal, encouraged "about eight times" the Ukrainian president to investigate the son of Joe Biden and to collaborate to do this with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Second son of the former senator, Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian gas group from 2014, when his father was vice president of Barack Obama. Did Trump specifically mention Joe Biden with the Ukrainian president? "What I talked about does not matter," he said, before adding that "someone should look into Joe Biden", who could be his great rival in the presidential election in 2020.
The favorite of the Democratic primary rejected all suspicion surrounding the affairs of his family in Ukraine, insisting that "no credible media has [considered] credible this statement".
.... Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2019A "shameless attempt" of intimidation
Donald Trump's statements against the whistleblower have outraged the Democratic leaders of four powerful congressional commissions, who have denounced a "shameless attempt" of intimidation that "may have a deterrent effect on future whistleblowers," he said. with serious consequences for our democracy and national security ". They called on the White House to deliver "immediately" the contents of the report made by the whistleblower to the Intelligence Committee.
Particularly troubling is a "promise" made by the White House tenant to a foreign leader, a whistleblower, himself a member of the intelligence services, made a report on August 12 to the Inspector General of Services Michael Atkinson.
But the information was not transmitted to the Congress in the time provided, raising questions about possible interventions. "We do not have the report, we do not know if the press information is accurate or inaccurate," said Adam Schiff, Democratic Chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee.
Ukraine elected in April to the presidency a comedian hitherto a novice in politics, Volodymyr Zelensky. The tete-a-tete between the latter and Donald Trump, scheduled Wednesday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, will be, in the context of these revelations, scrutinized with particular attention.
With AFP and Reuters