Trump–Ukraine scandal

The Trump–Ukraine scandal was a political scandal in the United States.^[1]

In October 2019, a whistleblower anonymously complained that U.S. President Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and other high-ranking Trump administration members had made phone calls with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, asking him to have the Ukrainian government investigate Joe Biden, who was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries at the time; as well as his son Hunter Biden in exchange for keeping U.S. military aid to Ukraine going.^[2] The complaint raised concerns that Trump was asking for other countries to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.^[3]

The controversy led to an impeachment inquiry against Trump.^[4] Because of the scandal, Trump was formally impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019. However, the Senate voted to clear Trump of charges.

References

1. • Veronica Stracqualursi & Michael Warren, Rudy Giuliani tells CNN he's unaware he's under investigation for Ukraine involvement, CNN (October 12, 2019): "the unraveling Ukraine scandal"
   • Nicholas Fandos, Trump's Ukraine Call Was 'Crazy' and 'Frightening,' Official Told Whistle-Blower, New York Times (October 8, 2019): "a memo written by the whistle-blower at the center of the Ukraine scandal"
   • Factbox: All the President's Men-Supporting Actors in Trump's Ukraine Scandal Archived 2019-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters (Oct. 7, 2019): "a scandal that has led to the impeachment inquiry."
2. Savage, Charlie; Williams, Josh (October 4, 2019). "Read the Text Messages Between U.S. and Ukrainian Officials". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019. A newly released set of text exchanges revealed details about President Trump's efforts to use American foreign policy to benefit himself.
3. Barrett, Devlin (September 26, 2019). "Whistleblower claimed Trump abused his office and that White House officials tried to cover it up". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
4. Fandos, Nicholas (September 24, 2019). "Nancy Pelosi Announces Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.