U.S. Diplomats Sought Ukraine Probe of Biden: Impeachment Update
Pelosi Says Impeachment Vote Not Inevitable: Impeachment Update
(Bloomberg) -- The House impeachment inquiry heard from its first formal witness behind closed doors Thursday as part of the probe into President Donald Trump’s interactions with Ukraine’s president.
Here are the latest developments:
U.S. Diplomats Coaxed Ukraine on Biden (11:40 p.m.)
Two American diplomats tried to arrange a proposed agreement under which Ukraine’s leader would promise to investigate widely discredited allegations of wrongdoing by Joe Biden’s son and interference in the 2016 election in a bid to normalize relations, according to documents released late Thursday night by three U.S. House committees.
Text messages show that Kurt Volker, then Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, worked with Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, to craft the statement for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in early September.
“We intend to initiate and complete a transparent and unbiased investigation of all available facts and episodes, including those involving Burisma and the 2016 elections, which in turn will prevent the recurrence of the problem in the future,” reads the proposed statement, which Volker sent to Sondland on Aug. 13.
“Perfect,” Sondland replied.
Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma, a natural gas company.
While the statement was apparently never made by Zelenskiy, the emails show that Ukraine was willing to issue it -- but only after the Trump administration offered a firm date for him to travel to the U.S. for a White House visit. It also shows how Ukrainian officials were wary of being used as tools in domestic American politics.
Volker Spoke of Diplomats’ Concerns, Swalwell Says (9 p.m.)
After the closed-door testimony by Kurt Volker, Trump’s former special envoy, Intelligence Committee member Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, said Volker discussed concerns by diplomats and Ukrainian officials over the activities there by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer.
Volker, according to Swalwell, said that it was made known to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was about to become Ukraine’s president, that to get a meeting with Trump he had to agree to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Volker did not comment after meeting with lawmakers.
Later, two House Republicans who attended the hearing, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Devin Nunes of California continued their criticism of the impeachment process and of Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
“The facts we learned today undercut the salacious narrative that Adam Schiff is using to sell his impeachment ambitions. We hope the American people get to read the transcript of today’s testimony and see the truth,” Nunes and Jordan said in a statement.
White House to Demand House Vote (8:05 p.m.)
The White House is expected to send House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter arguing the president and White House officials can ignore lawmaker demands for documents and testimony unless the House holds a vote formalizing the impeachment inquiry, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The letter, which may be sent as early as Friday, is setting the groundwork for an expected legal battle over document and testimony requests, and indicates that Republicans see a political advantage in forcing Democrats in swing districts to formalize the impeachment.
Earlier Thursday, Pelosi told Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that “the existing rules of the House provide House Committees with full authority to conduct investigations for all matters under their jurisdiction, including impeachment investigations.”
“There is no requirement under the Constitution, under House rules, or House precedent that the whole House vote before proceeding,” Pelosi said in a letter.
The administration’s plans to send Pelosi the letter was first reported by Axios.
Senator Seeks Probe of Ukraine Aid Delay (4:47 p.m.)
Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, asked the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the Trump administration’s months-long delay in providing security aid approved by Congress for Ukraine.
Menendez asked the inspector general to look into the roles of Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and other top officials in the Trump-Ukraine scandal.
The senator said Pompeo “may have inappropriately and unlawfully leveraged State Department resources” to advance Trump’s “personal and political agenda.”
Trump Lawyer Wants to Question Witnesses (4:24 p.m.)
Trump’s legal team has procedural and due-process concerns about the impeachment inquiry by the House’s Democratic majority, said Jay Sekulow, a personal lawyer for the president.
There are “a lot of issues we are concerned about,” Sekulow said in an interview, including that Trump representatives “are not allowed to cross-examine witnesses.”
House Republicans complained that Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff denied them equal representation in questioning former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker in a closed-door hearing Thursday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter to suspend the inquiry until “transparent and equitable” rules are established.
Pelosi responded to McCarthy, “I received your letter this morning shortly after the world witnessed President Trump on national television asking yet another foreign power to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections.”
She said House rules give committees “full authority” to conduct investigations, including impeachment inquiries. -- Jordan Fabian
Texts Show Debate Over Trump’s Demands (3:28 p.m.)
U.S. diplomats exchanged text messages arguing over whether Trump demanded that Ukraine investigate Joe Biden and his son in exchange for military aid, according to messages shared with congressional investigators.
“As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” Bill Taylor, the U.S. charge d’affairs in Kyiv, said in a text to Kurt Volker, who was envoy to Ukraine, and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. The text exchanges were confirmed by a congressional committee aide after reports earlier Thursday by ABC News and Fox News.
“Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions,” Sondland, who contributed more than $1 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign, wrote to Taylor and Volker. “The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind.”
Volker, who stepped down from his position last week, gave a deposition Thursday before congressional committees investigating a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to probe allegations of corruption surrounding Democrat Biden and his son Hunter. -- Nick Wadhams
Pence Says He Discussed Corruption with Zelenskiy (2:17 p.m.)
Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that when he met on Sept. 1 with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he raised issues of corruption in the country.
Pence, speaking to reporters in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday, said the two discussed corruption and the need for more European support for the country. Pence did not say whether he raised anything related to the Biden family, but has previously told reporters he didn’t discuss former Vice President Joe Biden with Zelenskiy. -- Josh Wingrove
Pentagon Says It Wasn’t on Ukraine Call (1:29 p.m.)
No Pentagon officials were listening in on Trump’s disputed call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in July, Defense Department spokesman Jon Hoffman told reporters on Thursday.
Hoffman also disclosed that the Pentagon’s general counsel is asking department officials to provide “any pertinent records and documents” generated in connection with military aid to Ukraine that was delayed, including contacts with outside agencies, “for cataloging and review for future use.”
The inquiry is standard practice, taken in consultation with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, according to Hoffman. He said no congressional committee has requested Pentagon documents on the Ukraine aid so far, and the department’s inspector general is still weighing a request by lawmakers for a review of why the aid was held up. Trump denies the assertion by Democrats that the military assistance was delayed to pressure Zelenskiy to seek political dirt on Democrat Joe Biden. -- Tony Capaccio
Biden Rips Trump for ‘Grotesque’ Lies (12:07 p.m.)
Joe Biden’s campaign responded Thursday to Trump’s statement that Chinese President Xi Jinping should investigate the former vice president and his son, calling it a “grotesque choice of lies over truth and self over country.”
“What Donald Trump just said on the South Lawn of the White House was this election’s equivalent of his infamous, ‘Russia, if you’re listening,’ moment from 2016,” Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.
During the 2016 general election between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump called on Russia to find 30,000 emails that Clinton deleted after she left the State Department.
The Biden campaign has been using Trump’s accusations that Biden aided his son Hunter’s international business dealings to present the 2020 race as already a two-candidate match between him and Trump.
House Probe Zeroes in on Ukraine Aid Halt (11:20 a.m.)
Congressional investigators are questioning Trump’s former special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, about the president’s decision to freeze more than $391 million in aid to the country days before he pressed Ukraine’s president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
“The freezing of the military aid in advance of that conversation is the heart of the issue here,” said Democratic Representative Gerald Connolly of Virginia, a member of the Oversight and Reform Committee, one of several House panels conducting an impeachment inquiry. He accused Trump of having “extorted” the Ukrainian leader by withholding the aid.
Volker stepped down last week from his unpaid role representing American interests in Ukraine, and was giving a deposition Thursday to the three House committees. -- Billy House
Trump Says Xi Should Consider Investigating Bidens (10:25 a.m.)
Trump said Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping should consider investigating Joe Biden and his son, after again calling on Zelenskiy to re-open an investigation into the family of one of his top political rivals.
“I would think that if they were honest about it they would start a major investigation into the Bidens. It’s a very simple answer. They should investigate the Bidens,” Trump said as he departed the White House to deliver a speech in Florida. “How does a company that’s newly formed-- and by the way, likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China was just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.” -- Jennifer Jacobs
Trump’s allegation that Joe Biden, as vice president, tried to shield his son Hunter from a Ukrainian investigation of a company that employed him has been discredited.
The president has also claimed that Hunter Biden won about $1.5 billion for an investment fund from China after accompanying his father, the then-vice president, on a trip to China. Biden has denied the claim, and Trump hasn’t provided any substantiation for it. -- Jennifer Jacobs
Poll Says 44% Back Removing Trump From Office (10:19 a.m.)
A plurality of Americans support impeaching Trump and removing him from office, according to a USA Today/Ipsos Poll.
The online survey taken Tuesday and Wednesday shows 45% to 38% support for a House vote to impeach the president, while 44% to 35% back a Senate vote for conviction and removal from the presidency.
Among Democrats, 74% support impeachment compared with 17% of Republicans. Independents are split at 37% to 37% in the USA Today poll.
A Monmouth University poll earlier this week showed 44% of Americans saying Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 52% disagreed. -- Billy House
Volker Arrives at Capitol to Testify (9:20 a.m.)
Kurt Volker, who resigned last week as President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, arrived at the U.S. Capitol Thursday where he is expected to testify as part of the House impeachment proceedings.
The veteran diplomat arrived at the Capitol to testify behind closed doors, in what Democrats have said is their expedited search for information to determine whether to impeach Trump.
Volker’s ties to the probe became public with references to him in a whistle-blower’s complaint. That document had alerted officials to Trump’s controversial telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and efforts by Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to find evidence implicating Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in a Ukrainian corruption scandal.
Last Friday, the day after the complaint was released to Congress and the public, Volker informed the State Department he was leaving his envoy post. -- Billy House
Pelosi Says Impeachment Vote Isn’t Inevitable (8:20 a.m.)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it wasn’t inevitable that the chamber would hold a vote on impeaching Trump.
“I don’t think so,” Pelosi responded when asked the question during an interview with ABC News aired Thursday.
“We should collect the facts” first, she said.
Democrats conducting an impeachment inquiry of Trump have lined up multiple deposition subjects -- including the recently departed U.S. envoy to Ukraine, who they’ll interview Thursday. Three House committees are looking into the circumstances surrounding Trump urging Ukraine to investigate 2020 political rival Joe Biden.
Lawmakers don’t need to find a quid pro quo in Trump’s interaction with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to impeach Trump, Pelosi said. Trump asked Zelenskiy during a July 25 call “do a favor” for him and work with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr on investigating Biden and son, Hunter, according to a White House summary of the call.
“I want the American people to know what the phone call was about,” Pelosi said. -- Kathleen Miller
Key Events
- Former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko says Biden never asked him to open or close any criminal cases, adding to the list of Ukrainian officials saying they never saw him do anything improper involving his son.
- Three House committee chairmen said they’ll subpoena the White House if it doesn’t turn over documents by Friday related to allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine into investigating Biden.
- The State Department inspector general shared with lawmakers a packet of material allegedly containing notes from interviews at Giuliani’s office involving debunked conspiracies related to Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
--With assistance from Kathleen Miller, Jennifer Jacobs, Tony Capaccio, Josh Wingrove, Nick Wadhams, Jordan Fabian and John Harney.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.net;Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net;Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, John Harney
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