How Trump and Giuliani pressured Ukraine to investigate the president's rivals
When President Trump spoke on the telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in late July, the Ukrainians had a lot at stake. They were waiting on millions in stalled military aid from the United States, and Zelensky was seeking a high-priority White House meeting with Trump.
Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that his country could improve its image if it completed corruption cases that have inhibited the interaction between Ukraine and the USA, according to a readout of the call released by Kiev.
What neither government said publicly at the time was that Trump went even further specifically pressing Ukraines president to reopen a corruption investigation involving former vice president Joe Bidens son, according to two people familiar with the call, which is now the subject of an explosive whistleblower complaint.
Days after the two presidents spoke, Trumps personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, met with an aide to the Ukrainian president in Madrid and spelled out two specific cases he believed Ukraine should pursue. One was a probe of a Ukrainian gas tycoon who had Bidens son Hunter on his board. Another was an allegation that Democrats colluded with Ukraine to release information on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort during the 2016 election.
Your country owes it to us and to your country to find out what really happened, Giuliani said he told the Ukrainian presidents aide, Andriy Yermak, during the Madrid meeting. Yermak, according to Giuliani, indicated that the Ukrainians were open to pursuing the investigations. The aide reiterated the Ukrainians plea for a meeting with Trump, a summit that would be an important signal to Russia of Washingtons support for Ukraine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trump-and-giuliani-pressured-ukraine-to-investigate-the-presidents-rivals/2019/09/20/0955801c-dbb6-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1