'Do Us a Favor': Trump Wanted Barr, Giuliani to Help Ukraine Investigate Biden
The president made the remarks in a call that sparked a well-publicized whistleblower complaint.
September 25, 2019 at 11:41 AM
4 minute read
President Donald Trump urged the Ukrainian president to get in touch with Attorney General William Barr about launching an investigation tied to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, according to a transcript of the call released Wednesday.
"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 said during the call, before asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into a topic related to former special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation.
Trump made the remark after Zelensky suggested that Ukraine might be prepared to buy missiles from the U.S.
"I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it," the president added, according to the transcript of the July phone call released by the White House.
Zelensky said that his country "will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue," in reference to the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which had determined that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee's servers.
"I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it out," Trump said. "I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything."
In a statement released Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said Barr has not spoken with the Trump about having Ukraine investigate Biden's son, and that Barr has not been asked to contact Ukraine.
"The Attorney General has not communicated with Ukraine—on this or any other subject," said DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec in a statement. "Nor has the Attorney General discussed this matter, or anything relating to Ukraine, with Rudy Giuliani."
The Justice Department also released an Office of Legal Counsel memo Wednesday, stating that the whistleblower complaint about the call was not "urgent" because it involved the president, and not a member of the intelligence community.
In an unclassified version of the memo released Wednesday, the office stated that the whistleblower heard of Trump's conversation with Zelensky secondhand. Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, however, argued that Trump was not a member of the intelligence committee, and the complaint therefore did not have to be shared with Congress.
Engel said the whistleblower provided "a hearsay report that the President, who is not a member of the intelligence community, abused his authority or acted unlawfully in connection with foreign diplomacy." And it said Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson found the complaint to be "urgent" because the director of national intelligence "has operational responsibility to prevent election interference."
"But even if so, it does not follow that the alleged misconduct by the President concerns 'the funding, administration, or operation of an intelligence activity within the responsibility and authority' of the DNI because the allegations do not arise in connection with any such intelligence activity at all," the memo states. "The complaint therefore does not state an 'urgent concern.'"
Engel wrote that OLC doesn't believe "the subjects of 'urgent concern' reports to the ICIG are broader than other matters that fall within the investigative and reporting authority of the ICIG."
And he revealed that the inspector general found "some indicia of an arguable political bias on the part of the Complainant in favor of a rival political candidate," but that Atkinson determined the claims still "appeared credible."
Rather, the OLC memo argues that the matter should have been referred to DOJ.
The memo was released at the same time as the White House released its transcript of the call between Trump and Zelensky.
Read the telephone memorandum:
Read the opinion:
Read more:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllThese Law Firm Leaders Are Optimistic About 2025, Citing Deal Pipeline, International Business
6 minute read'Serious Disruptions'?: Federal Courts Brace for Government Shutdown Threat
3 minute readJudicial Appointments After Casey: Observers Wary but Hopeful Bipartisan Spirit Will Continue
Will Khan Resign? FTC Chair Isn't Saying Whether She'll Stick Around After Giving Up Gavel
Trending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250