Donald Trump Doubles Down On Defense Of Ukraine Call, Accuses Joe Biden Of Corruption In Tweet
The Ukraine phone call controversy has managed to increase in intensity over the weekend, as multiple Democrats have called for an investigation into the matter, with some even calling for the possibility of impeachment.
According to The Hill, President Donald Trump continued to defend the phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and doubled down on his defense in a series of Sunday tweets that not only implied that the call was completely innocent, but that the “real story” was an accusation he leveled against former vice president Joe Biden.
“..Breaking News: The Ukrainian Government just said they weren’t pressured at all during the ‘nice’ call. Sleepy Joe Biden, on the other hand, forced a tough prosecutor out from investigating his son’s company by threat of not giving big dollars to Ukraine. That’s the real story!” Trump tweeted.
Just before that tweet, Trump hammered the “fake news” media and the anonymous whistleblower who Trump claims didn’t have first-hand knowledge of the incident.
“Now the Fake News Media says I ‘pressured the Ukrainian President at least 8 times during my telephone call with him.’ This supposedly comes from a so-called ‘whistleblower’ who they say doesn’t even have a first hand account of what was said.” Trump tweeted.
The controversy became one last week when The Washington Post published a report that claimed a whistleblower in the intelligence community accused Trump of making several inappropriate requests to the foreign leader during a July 25 phone conversation.
It was later revealed that the alleged inappropriateness involved Trump requesting that Zelenskiy to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for dealings he had with a natural gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.
According to Fox News, then-vice president Biden allegedly tried to pressure Ukraine officials into removing a prosecutor who was investigating the Ukrainian company that Hunter Biden had ties to as part of a corruption probe. As The Hill reported, there has been no evidence that Biden was actively trying to protect his son at the time.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he did mention Biden and talked about corruption taking place in Ukraine, but firmly denied that anything inappropriate took place.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Trump also hinted on Sunday that he was considering releasing the transcript of the phone conversation, but expressed concerns about privacy in talks between leaders.
Top Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, have blasted the Trump administration for blocking the release of the transcript, claiming they’re only doing so in order to protect the president. Schiff said the seriousness of the situation may have “crossed the rubicon” and warned that depending on what exactly was said in the conversation, impeachment proceedings could be on the table.
