The whistleblower who ignited controversy over President Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s president did not have “firsthand knowledge” of the conversation.
Instead of facts, the individual’s complaint relies solely on hearsay. Nevertheless, the issue has reinvigorated Democrats calling for impeachment.
Per Fox News:
The source said that it is made clear in the complaint itself that the whistleblower did not have direct knowledge of the July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Fox News has learned that typically, multiple U.S. officials are on such calls with the president, but this would indicate the whistleblower is not one of those people. It’s unclear if the individual read a transcript of the call, heard about it in conversation, or learned of it another way.
Democrats, meanwhile, have seized on allegations that Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden family’s dealings, citing those claims to revive calls for impeachment. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
The new details, though, have fed into skepticism about the allegations from Trump’s allies in Congress, with some likening it to how Democrats rushed to call for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s impeachment last week. Some Democrats backed off after The New York Times had to amend an explosive story on new college-era allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh to make clear that the alleged victim did not have any recollection of the alleged episode.
Amid the fallout, Republicans are trying to redirect the spotlight to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, who benefited financially from dealings with an energy exploration company based in Ukraine while his father was vice president.
In a late Sunday tweet, Trump said that the Ukrainian government backed him up by saying they did not feel pressured. In the same tweet, Trump reiterated that the real story was the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine.
..Breaking News: The Ukrainian Government just said they weren’t pressured at all during the “nice” call. Sleepy Joe Biden, on the other hand, forced a tough prosecutor out from investigating his son’s company by threat of not giving big dollars to Ukraine. That’s the real story!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2019
Whose Ukrainian dealings are the most suspect? Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton’s? Share your thoughts with us!
AAN Staff
The staff at American Action News are consummate professionals, who when not producing original, hard-hitting content, are scouring the internet to bring you the unfiltered news that matters to you! Our mission is to maximize your experience on our website. If we can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know!
