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From conflicts of interest to election interference, President Donald Trump’s administration is no stranger to controversy. While these topics have sparked outrage, none of them have come close to compromising Trump’s position as head of state. However, on July 25, 2019, a single phone call caused a new issue to emerge, sparking a chain reaction of events- events which could jeopardize Trump’s presidency.
That phone call was between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the newly-elected president of Ukraine. To understand the contents of the phone call and why it has led to such widespread controversy and news coverage, it is necessary to trace events all the way back to 2014.
Hunter Biden, son of then-Vice President Joe Biden, joined the board of directors of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings in April 2014. At the time, some questioned if the son of the Vice President working for a Ukrainian company was a conflict of interest, but the state department responded to questions, saying Hunter Biden was a private citizen, and his work did not impact U.S. policy. The situation was investigated by Ukrainian authorities, who determined that no wrongdoing had occurred. The results of this investigation were announced in May.
In 2014, Congress had passed Security Assistance Initiative legislation authorizing tax dollars to be spent on assisting Ukraine in their war against Russian aggression. Money and military equipment were sent to Ukraine on a regular schedule.
This is where the July phone call comes in. President Trump made the call to President Zelensky to congratulate him on his victory in the Ukrainian elections. The transcript of the call reads mostly as a normal conversation between world leaders, but the topic of the aid Ukraine was expecting came up. It has now been revealed Trump had placed a hold on $391 million of aid scheduled to be sent to Ukraine at some point before this phone call took place.
According to a rough transcript of the call released by the White House, at one point Zelensky says “...I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense....we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.”
Some argue Trump’s reply to this is what has triggered the entire impeachment process: “I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.” Trump goes on to ask Zelensky about “Crowdstrike” in reference
to emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee servers during the 2016 presidential election. While all U.S. intelligence agencies agree Russian agents were the perpetrators of the hack, Trump said on the phone call, “...they
say Ukraine has it.”
Trump goes on to ask Zelensky to “work with” U.S.
Attorney General William Barr and Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to “get to the bottom of it.”
Later in the call, Trump mentions Hunter Biden. He asks Zelensky to “look into” the accusation that Vice President Biden stopped a Ukrainian prosecutor from investigating Hunter in 2014. Trump again mentions working with Barr on this matter.
Two weeks after the call, a whistle-blower filed a formal complaint regarding Trump’s actions. The complaint was not forwarded to Congress until September 25, the day after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the House would launch formal impeachment inquiries against Trump.
Essentially, the inquiry revolves around whether the president withheld Congressionally-approved tax dollars and military aid to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate a political opponent. This accusation is difficult to confirm for certain, as President Zelensky has stated that he felt no pressure from Trump, and the military aid was eventually sent to Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly referred to the call as “perfect.”
The Constitution states that “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” are grounds for a president’s impeachment. In general, an impeachable offense is a misuse of power that results in grave harm to the public.
The House of Representatives is responsible for deciding, through extensive hearings, whether to create articles of impeachment. On Dec. 5, Pelosi has asked the House Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment against the president, saying, “the president’s actions are a profound violation of the public trust.”
Once the articles are drafted, the full House will vote to accept or reject them. If a simple majority (218) of Representatives vote to accept, the president is officially impeached. Democrats hold 233 seats in the House.
Impeachment does not mean removal from office. In 1998 President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House but not removed from office after a trial in the Senate the following year.
In a Senate trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court acts as the judge, and the Senators serve as jurors. In this process, the President is allowed legal counsel and can cross examine witnesses.
If, after hearing all the evidence, two thirds of the senators vote the president is guilty of the allegations, he is removed from office. Although Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, the outcome of this decision is anything but assured. TheAmericanpublicwilljusthaveto wait and see whether Congress will support or condemn the President’s
actions regarding Ukraine.
Understanding impeachment
The nebulous process of Donald Trump’s impeachment, explained. Story by Phoenix Boggs