Report: In his book, John Bolton writes Trump held up Ukraine aid over Biden investigation

John Bolton.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In an unpublished manuscript he has been sending to close associates, former National Security Adviser John Bolton writes that in August, President Trump told him he wanted to withhold military assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, The New York Times reports.

During a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked Zelensky to launch investigations into the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy that Ukraine, not Russia, stole documents from Democrats; Trump defenders have said his decision to freeze the aid, which was finally released in mid-September, had nothing to do with his request.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

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.