Based on reconstructed transcript, DOJ decided Trump's conduct during Ukraine call did not rise to a criminal level


About a month after the Justice Department received a whistleblower complaint about President Trump's communications with a foreign leader, the department found that Trump's conduct did not rise to a criminal level.
During his July 25 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump told Zelensky he needed to work with Attorney General William Barr to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The DOJ's criminal division reviewed the complaint, with Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen overseeing it. Last week, they determined that there were no legal grounds to launch a criminal investigation into Trump's actions, saying the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the phone call and may have been politically motivated, The New York Times reports.
The complaint was deemed credible by the intelligence community's inspector general, and marked as being of "urgent concern." Senior officials said the criminal division came to its conclusion solely because of the reconstructed transcript of the call, and no witnesses or participants were interviewed. After the complaint was filed in August, two top intelligence officials asked a Justice Department lawyer if the complaint should be passed on to Congress, and they were told no, the DOJ would handle the matter, the Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The idea that the Department of Justice would have intervened to prevent it from getting to Congress throws the leadership of the department into further ill repute," House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Wednesday. A DOJ official told the Times that Barr didn't know about the call until late last month.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red Sea
Speed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacks
speed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages released
Speed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'
Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs say
Speed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read