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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/ukraine-to-review-legal-cases-amid-trump-claims-over-bidens
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ukraine to review legal cases amid Trump claims over Bidens | Ukraine to review legal cases amid Trump claims over Bidens |
| (4 months later) | |
| Ukraine’s highest prosecutor has said he is holding a broad review of investigations closed under his predecessors, including more than a dozen linked to the Ukrainian energy company where Joe Biden’s son served on the board of directors. | Ukraine’s highest prosecutor has said he is holding a broad review of investigations closed under his predecessors, including more than a dozen linked to the Ukrainian energy company where Joe Biden’s son served on the board of directors. |
| The general prosecutor, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, said the review was part of Ukraine’s reform process as investigative powers are handed over to another government agency by the middle of next month. | The general prosecutor, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, said the review was part of Ukraine’s reform process as investigative powers are handed over to another government agency by the middle of next month. |
| In a July 2019 phone call, Trump asked Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to mount an investigation of his potential rival for the White House in the 2020 election, Joe Biden, and son Hunter Biden – and also to investigate a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, instead of Russia, was behind foreign tampering in the 2016 election. | |
| Trump framed the requests as a “favor” after he reminded his counterpart that “the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine”. Overshadowing the conversation was the fact that Trump had recently suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid that Congress had approved for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia . | |
| News of the call emerged in a Washington Post report on 18 September that an internal whistleblower complaint, filed in August, involved “communications between Trump and a foreign leader”. | |
| Trump’s attempted dealings in Ukraine caused a scandal in US diplomatic ranks. The Democrats have obtained text messages between top US envoys in Ukraine establishing that diplomats told Zelenskiy that a White House visit to meet Trump was dependent on him making a public statement vowing to investigate Hunter Biden’s company. | |
| Trump does not dispute public accounts of what he said in the call, as established by the whistleblower’s complaint, released on 26 September, and a call summary released by the White House itself. | |
| But Trump and allies have argued that the conversation – “I’ve given you that, now I need this” – was not actually as transactional as it appears to be. | |
| Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has pressured Ukraine to smear Biden, and the whistleblower said White House officials had caused records of Trump’s Ukraine call to be moved into a specially restricted computer system. The vice-president, Mike Pence, has acknowledged contacts with Ukrainian officials while claiming to have no knowledge of Trump’s Biden agenda. | |
| On 3 October 2019, Trump even suggested that: “China should start an investigation into the Bidens.” | |
| Unlike when he was a candidate, Trump’s invitations for foreign powers to attack his domestic political opponents now have all the power of the White House behind them. Critics say this is a plain abuse of that power and it undermines US national security because it places Trump’s personal agenda first. | |
| The Trump administration also stands accused of obstruction of Congress for resisting congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the crisis. | |
| A lot of people – from the whistleblower, to career government officials swept up in the affair, to legal scholars, to Democrats and even some Republicans – believe it’s plausible that the president has committed an impeachable offense. | |
| Tom McCarthy in New York | |
| At a press conference on Friday, Ryaboshapka said he had no evidence of any wrongdoing by Hunter Biden and had not been contacted by Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has spearheaded an informal investigation into the Biden family for the US president. | At a press conference on Friday, Ryaboshapka said he had no evidence of any wrongdoing by Hunter Biden and had not been contacted by Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has spearheaded an informal investigation into the Biden family for the US president. |
| Trump has demanded the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, open an investigation into Hunter Biden for his work in Ukraine, and into his father for urging the country to fire the then general prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. | Trump has demanded the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, open an investigation into Hunter Biden for his work in Ukraine, and into his father for urging the country to fire the then general prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. |
| Asked whether he would investigate the pair, Ryaboshapka said he was holding an “audit of all cases”, a docket numbering in the thousands, which could include about 15 relating to the energy company Burisma. | Asked whether he would investigate the pair, Ryaboshapka said he was holding an “audit of all cases”, a docket numbering in the thousands, which could include about 15 relating to the energy company Burisma. |
| In a follow-up statement, Ryaboshapka said his office was reviewing “high-profile proceedings concerning senior officials” under the former president Viktor Yanukovych, including cases tied to Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky. | In a follow-up statement, Ryaboshapka said his office was reviewing “high-profile proceedings concerning senior officials” under the former president Viktor Yanukovych, including cases tied to Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky. |
| The statement stressed “no procedural decisions” had been made against Zlochevsky or “any persons related”. | The statement stressed “no procedural decisions” had been made against Zlochevsky or “any persons related”. |
| The decision is not a full accession to Trump’s demands, as the earlier Burisma cases under review do not directly involve Hunter Biden or his father’s political influence. | The decision is not a full accession to Trump’s demands, as the earlier Burisma cases under review do not directly involve Hunter Biden or his father’s political influence. |
| Ryaboshapka’s remarks on Friday appeared to be part of Ukraine’s continued strategy of resisting the Trump administration’s demands for a full investigation, while avoiding antagonising the US president. Ukraine, where a revolution took place in 2014, relies heavily on the US and Europe for financial support for reforms and military aid. | Ryaboshapka’s remarks on Friday appeared to be part of Ukraine’s continued strategy of resisting the Trump administration’s demands for a full investigation, while avoiding antagonising the US president. Ukraine, where a revolution took place in 2014, relies heavily on the US and Europe for financial support for reforms and military aid. |
| Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate his potential opponent in the 2020 elections has led to an impeachment inquiry in Washington. | Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate his potential opponent in the 2020 elections has led to an impeachment inquiry in Washington. |
| Shokin was widely regarded as corrupt, and there is no evidence Biden sought to have him fired for investigating Burisma. | Shokin was widely regarded as corrupt, and there is no evidence Biden sought to have him fired for investigating Burisma. |
| Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of directors of Burisma, with a reported monthly salary of $50,000 (£41,000), has been the subject of an investigation by Giuliani. The former New York mayor has collected evidence from several former Ukrainian prosecutors to try to discredit Biden before the elections. | Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of directors of Burisma, with a reported monthly salary of $50,000 (£41,000), has been the subject of an investigation by Giuliani. The former New York mayor has collected evidence from several former Ukrainian prosecutors to try to discredit Biden before the elections. |
| Ukraine | Ukraine |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| Rudy Giuliani | Rudy Giuliani |
| Joe Biden | Joe Biden |
| US politics | US politics |
| Europe | Europe |
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