It’s been all over the news and Trump’s been (unsurprisingly) tweeting about it. With just less than 12 months to go before the 2020 election, the impeachment hearings against Mr Trump have been underway. So what’s the charges? And what has been said so far?
What’s the charge?
The inquiry is into Trump’s pressuring of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine into finding and providing information on Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, that may damage Mr Biden’s chances at the Democratic nomination (due to take place in July 2020) or at the presidential election next year. Currently, Mr Biden is one of the front runners for the nomination.
In order to gain a quid pro quo cooperation from Zelensky, Trump withheld a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine and released it at a later date in exchange for information on the Bidens.
Biden’s son, Hunter, was on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company, while his father was Vice-President.
What’s the Concern Over Hunter Biden?
Hunter’s position on the board risked creating a conflict of interest as Joe Biden had a large role in U.S relations with Ukraine, particularly concerning efforts with anti-corruption in the country. Vice-President Biden, alongside several Western leaders, encouraged the Ukrainian government to fire top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, for blocking corruption investigation. Shokin was dismissed from his position by parliamentary vote in March 2016.
Since 2012, Shokin had been investigating allegations of corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion against the owner of Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky. Hunter Biden gained a position on the board in 2014. Shokin became the prosecutor general of the investigation in 2015. Soon after, the Obama administration became concerned that Shokin was not actively reducing corruption in Ukraine, but was instead protecting the elite.
What was stirred up by Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was an allegation that Joe Biden prevented an investigation into potential illegal activities in Ukraine. Reportedly, Trump told Zelensky via phone call:
Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution (of his son).
Part of the alleged phone call between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
There is no evidence that Biden bragged about stopping a prosecution. Biden had recollected his experience on the Shokin case as:
I looked at them and said, “I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.” He got fired.
Joe Biden on speaking to Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, recounted in 2018.
According to Ukrainian prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko (in May 2019), Hunter Biden had not violated any Ukrainian law. His replacement, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, stated in October 2019 that there was no evidence of illegal activity in Ukraine by Hunter Biden.
Is Asking a Foreign Entity to Help Win an Election Illegal?
Yes, it is.
Under Title 52 of the United States Code (The Code of Laws of the United States of America), it is unlawful for a foreign national to provide anything of value to a candidate or party. The law goes as follows:
a) Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for –
(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make –
(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication; or
(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.
52 USC: 30121: Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
Is asking for damaging information a thing of value?
The problem with the term “thing of value” is that it is very vague by what it regards as ‘value.’ Monetary donations from a foreign national are made clear as illegal – whether that be $1 or thousands of dollars.
Could damaging information provided by a foreign national on a political opponent be regarded as a thing of value? The answer is maybe, but it all depends on perception. Information that can hinder a candidate’s campaign chances can be regarded as valuable for the opponent (or in this case, the president) as it can tarnish that candidate’s public image at the polls.
On the other hand, how do you value the provision of information? Therefore, should it not count as a thing of value? The ambiguity of ‘thing of value’ has left the debate wide open.
What is Trump’s defense?
There are three main factors to the Republican defense:
- President Zelensky claimed that he was not pressurized by Trump to provide any information
- The Ukrainians were unaware that the military aid package was delayed for any reason
- The aid was released to Ukraine eventually
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has denied that he used the aid package as a bargaining chip, and regards his call with Zelensky as “perfect.”
He has lashed out against the impeachment inquiry on Twitter, calling it a “witch hunt” orchestrated by Democrats and the media.
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Why is Ukraine so important?
Ukraine is a young country, having being liberated from USSR control in 1991. However, the country is still plagued by its Soviet past and ultimately wants to break away from that.
The United States has supported Ukraine’s transition into a democratic state since the 1990’s, which would also foster pro-American sentiments in the new country. Currently, the US is supportive of allowing Ukraine to become a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and act as a buffer state between Russia and the West. In 2014, the new Ukrainian government announced it would align itself with the West instead of Russia after the previous president, Viktor Yanukovych, was accused of being a pro-Russian puppet by the Ukrainian parliament.
Since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014, military aid to Ukraine has increased to allow the military to push back against Russian aggression. So far, the war in southeastern Ukraine has claimed 13,000 lives and displaced over 1.5 million people.
Losing pro-American sentiment in Ukraine can be regarded as the equivalent of handing the country over to Russia. Using aid packages as bargaining chips risks a detrimental impact on this pro-American ideology and losing the buffer between Europe and an increasingly aggressive Russia.
Who Are the Key Figures?
Donald Trump
Starting obvious, Trump is at the center of the impeachment inquiry. Some aspects of his involvement in the Ukraine scandal are under intense debate, but here is a list of what has been confirmed:
- Trump has acknowledged that he deliberately blocked a $400 million military aid package to Ukraine, releasing it at a later date.
- He did speak on the phone to new Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky (assumed office 20 May 2019).
- Trump wanted an investigation into Joe Biden and the actions of his son, Hunter, in Ukraine, possibly as a follow up from the investigation conducted by Shokin. However, it is debatable how pressurized Zelensky was into opening an investigation.
- A whistleblower working in intelligence has alleged that the president had “used the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country” for the 2020 election.
Volodymyr Zelensky
The President of Ukraine, Zelensky is the other major party involved in the scandal. According to the phone call transcript, Zelensky was willing to open an investigation into Hunter Biden and there were numerous instances where he was attempting to flatter Mr Trump (including stating that he too wanted to “drain the swamp” in Ukraine).
The main question is if any discussion about the Bidens had been planned in advance.
Joe Biden
Currently, Mr Biden is a front runner for the Democratic nomination, and is therefore one of Trump’s major political rivals. The timing of Trump’s request of an investigation has raised some eyebrows. If Mr Biden had retired from the political scene, any investigation into him or his son would have negligible impact on Trump and the 2020 election.
Mr Trump has accused Mr Biden of abusing power in his office while he was vice president under Barack Obama. The suggestion is that Biden removed Shokin to shut down an investigation that could have implicated his son, Hunter.
Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden held a position on the board of Burisma Holdings, a company that was under investigation for allegations of corruption. Viktor Shokin, the lead investigator, was dismissed in 2016, with Joe Biden having a role in persuading the Ukrainian government that Shokin was not pursuing corruption, but instead protecting the corrupters.
However, there is no evidence that Hunter broke any law in Ukraine. Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko has stated that any corruption at Burisma Holdings was taking place before Hunter Biden was made a member of the board.
Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, has had the role of pushing the notion that the Bidens had been involved in illegal activity in Ukraine.
However, in today’s testimony with Gordon Sonderland, Giuliani is alleged to have been the one leading diplomacy, and the one who pushed for a quid pro quo in the first place.
Viktor Shokin
Shokin was dismissed by Ukrainian parliament in 2016 over accusations that he was not doing enough against corruption. Joe Biden as vice president had been pushing for his resignation due to the allegations, including threatening to withhold a $1 billion aid package unless Mr Shokin was fired.
At the time of his dismissal, Mr Shokin ad been investigating corruption at Burisma Holdings, where Mr Biden’s son was on the board.
Kurt Volker
Instead of being in the spotlight of the drama, Volker acted as the middle man and encouraged the Ukrainian government in opening an investigation into the Bidens. Volker was the US envoy to Ukraine.
In a text message, Volker revealed that Mr Zelensky would be invited to Washington on the grounds he investigated the Bidens’ activity in Ukraine.
Gordon Sondland
The US ambassador to the European Union was thrown into the fray after text messages were discovered of his involvement in discussions to pressurize Ukraine into opening an investigation.
Earlier today, Mr Sondland confirmed a quid pro quo situation had gone down between the US and Ukraine. However, he also stated that he never directly heard Trump say that military aid would be exchanged for information on the Bidens and that Sondland’s office worked frequently with Rudy Giuliani.
We did not want to work with Mr Giuliani. Simply put, we played the hand we were dealt. We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine.
Gordon Sondland at the impeachment hearings, 20 November 2019
William Taylor
The acting US ambassador to Ukraine told a private hearing that it was his understanding that Mr Trump withheld the military aid package and release it in exchange for an open investigation on the Bidens.
Mr Taylor also alleged that Rudy Giuliani was behind the mounting pressure on Ukraine to begin a probe.
The push to make President Zelensky publicly commit to investigations of Burisma and alleged interference in the 2016 elections showed how the official foreign policy of the United States was undercut by the irregular efforts led by Mr Giuliani.
William Taylor’s testimony, 6 November 2019
What's Going On, America? 