Out of the geopolitical frying pan into the fire: Having recently emerged from one scandal of foreign influence in Eastern Europe, President Trump has become embroiled in another. The central allegation: in a July 25 phone call, Trump pressured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son in exchange for unblocking U.S. aid to the country. (The claim that the former vice-president interfered in Ukrainian politics to aide his son Hunter had already been debunked, but that doesn’t mean Trump couldn’t use it against his potential 2020 rival.) The call came to light via a complaint from an intelligence-community whistle-blower; House Democrats are currently locked in a battle with Trump’s director of national intelligence over whether he is illegally withholding the complaint from Congress. The scandal has already renewed impeachment talk among Democrats.
Ukraine-U.S. Relations
New York Magazine: Everything we know about Trump’s Ukraine scandal
US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base on May 30, 2019, in Maryland.
