Trump Freezes Ukraine Military Aid Demanding Biden Investigation

President Trump orchestrated a multi-month campaign to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter, using $391 million in congressionally approved military aid as leverage. In a July 25 phone call with President Zelensky, Trump explicitly demanded ‘I would like you to do us a favor though’ immediately after Zelensky mentioned needing Javelin missiles to defend against Russia. Trump instructed Zelensky to collaborate with Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Barr to investigate Biden, claiming ‘Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution.’ A subsequent whistleblower complaint revealed this scheme, detailing how Trump used presidential power to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. election.

The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry report concluded that Trump ‘subverted U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine and undermined our national security in favor of two politically motivated investigations.’ The House voted 230-197 to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on December 18, 2019. This marked the first time in U.S. history a president used military aid as direct leverage for personal political gain against a domestic political rival.