This conversation, a report of which was released Wednesday, triggered an impeachment proceeding against the US president by the House of Representatives.
The publication of a new document, in the case of the telephone conversation between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart, puts further pressure on Donald Trump. According to the report of a whistleblower, made public Thursday, September 26, the tenant of the White House has not only requested the"Interference" of Ukraine in the US presidential election of 2020 during this call, but he also tried that this call remains secret.
It is the report of this whistleblower that is the cause of a dismissal procedure initiated by the House of Representatives against Donald Trump. It is about a call between Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart dated July 25th. During this exchange, the US president notably asked Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden, candidate for the Democratic primary for the US presidential election of 2020, and his son Hunter, who worked from 2014 in a Ukrainian gas group.
In this report dated August 12, 2016, the whistleblower accuses the US President of "Endanger national security". "In the performance of my official duties, I have received information from several government officials that the President of the United States uses the powers of his office to request the interference of a foreign country in the (presidential) election. ) of 2020 », he writes, adding that Mr. Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is a "Central figure" of these maneuvers.
According to the whistleblower – an agent, employed, seconded or contracted intelligence services – a dozen officials have informed him of these requests for interference but admits he has never been "A direct witness" of these events.
The White House has "locked all the records of the call"
"White House officials told me that they had been" enjoined "by White House lawyers to remove the electronic transcription from the computer system where such transcripts are usually kept"he wrote again. An initiative which, according to him, would come from "White House lawyers".
"Instead, the transcript had been uploaded to a separate electronic system that is usually used to store and manipulate classified information of a particularly sensitive nature. These various acts highlighted to me that White House officials understood the seriousness of what had happened during this call. "
The whistleblower was tried "Credible" by the Inspector General of Intelligence Services.
"Hysteria"
Following the publication of the letter, Donald Trump posted a statement on Twitter saying that "The Democrats are trying to destroy the Republican Party and all that it represents" and asking members of his party to "Shake your elbows".
THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO DESTROY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ALL THAT IT STANDS FOR. TOGETHER STICK, PLAY THEIR GAM … https://t.co/D32q8Aw3sn
Interviewed Thursday in Congress, National Intelligence Director (DNI), Joseph Maguire, said he did not know the identity of the mysterious whistleblower and swore that nobody in the entourage of the president had asked him to investigate to find out. Evoking a file "Unique and unprecedented"he defended his decision not to forward his report to parliamentarians.
"I think he did not respect the law", retorted the leader of the Democrats in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, before denouncing the choice of the White House to record the disputed appeal on a server reserved for classified or sensitive content.
"It's a maneuver to choke" the case, launched Mme Pelosi. "We need to investigate to clarify the facts", she added, accusing Mr. Trump of "Despise" the Constitution but promising not to "Rush on the conclusions".
For its part, the White House has denounced "Hysteria and misrepresentations spread by Democrats and many media" by the voice of her spokesperson, Stéphanie Grisham. "Nothing has changed with the publication of this report which is nothing more than the compilation of third-hand accounts and press articles", she said.
Our selection of articles on the case of the appeal between Trump and Zelensky
