today in trump land
Trump admits he discussed Biden during call with Ukrainian president
President Trump on Sunday acknowledged that he talked about former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July, but defended the conversation, saying he was talking about "all of the corruption taking place."
Trump told reporters he congratulated Zelensky on his election, and told him "we don't want our people like the vice president and his son creating to the corruption already in the Ukraine." Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been accusing Hunter Biden of corruption linked to his business in Ukraine, with little evidence, and Giuliani has publicly said he did pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens.
The Wall Street Journal reported that over the course of the call, Trump encouraged Zelensky eight times to work with Giuliani on an investigation into the Bidens. A whistleblower complaint sent to the intelligence community's inspector general was reportedly about communications between Trump and a foreign leader and a "promise" Trump made. During the same time period that Trump called Zelensky, his administration held up $250 million in security aid to Ukraine, with the money released this month.