Rudy Giuliani had admitted, then denied, on television that he had asked, as the US president's personal attorney, for the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden.
The Democratic leaders of several US parliamentary committees demanded Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Monday (September 30th) to hand over documents related to the Ukrainian case as part of their investigation into a lawsuit. of dismissal against the American president.
Mr. Giuliani "Admitted on television that he had asked, as the president's personal attorney, for the Ukrainian government to target former vice president Joe Biden"say the chiefs in the lower house of the foreign affairs, intelligence and executive oversight committees. "In addition to this serious admission, you have more recently reported being in possession of evidence – in the form of SMS, phone call records, and other communications – indicating that you are not acting alone and that others Trump government officials may have been involved in this plot "they continue.
"Your refusal or failure to comply with this injunction will be evidence of an impediment to the inquiry of the House" representatives for impeachment proceedings, the Democrats write in a communiqué summoning him to hand over the documents by 15 October.
First stage
Democrats opened a congressional investigation into an indictment on September 24 ("Impeachment" in English) by Donald Trump. They suspect him of pressuring the head of the Ukrainian state to investigate Joe Biden, his possible opponent in 2020, and his son, Hunter Biden. The latter was a member of the board of directors of a Ukrainian gas group while his father was vice-president.
The US president had mandated his personal lawyer to investigate Hunter Biden's case in Ukraine. Mr Giuliani, former mayor of New York, met with several Ukrainian officials during his investigation. He has publicly stated that he has acted in consultation with the State Department.
Faced with the pressure, Donald Trump published on September 25 on the website of the White House the transcript of the interview he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. She confirms that he has asked his counterpart to investigate Joe Biden. "There was not the slightest pressure" (on Ukraine), for its part reaffirmed Mr. Trump shortly after the publication of the document.
The House of Representatives, with a Democratic majority, will be responsible for leading this first step in the impeachment process. If it passes an "indictment," the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, will then have to conduct the "trial" of the president.
