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Donald Trump facing fresh impeachment calls over claims he ‘pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden’s son’
DONALD Trump is facing fresh calls for his impeachment following claims he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate his 2020 rival's son for "corruption".
Bombshell reports last night accused the US President of repeatedly urging his Kiev counterpart to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice-President Joe Biden who was a director of a Ukrainian gas firm.
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If the allegations are true, Mr Trump will have "abused his power for personal gain", the US House Intelligence Committee chairman has warned.
The potential breach of office is said to have occurred during a July phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy where Trump allegedly threatened to withhold millions of dollars in US aid unless a prosecutor who was looking into the company was fired.
Last night Mr Trump admitted he had brought up the topic of Mr Biden's son during the "congratulatory" phone call after he won the presidential election.
The President told reporters he had mentioned corruption and "largely the fact that we don't want our people, like Vice-President Biden and his son, creating to the corruption already in the Ukraine".
An explicit quid pro quo isn’t required to betray your country. It’s enough to abuse power for personal gain.
Adam Schiff
His admission - following revelations by a US intelligence whistleblower - fuelled demands to remove Mr Trump from the White House.
Senior Democrat Adam Schiff, who has previously opposed impeachment, said Mr Trump has "crossed the Rubicon" if he tried to coerce a foreign leader into influencing US elections.
He told : "If the president is essentially withholding military aid at the same time that he is trying to browbeat a foreign leader to do something illicit, to provide dirt on his opponent during a presidential campaign, then that (impeachment) may be the only remedy that is co-equal to the evil that conduct represents."
He also said on Twitter: "An explicit quid pro quo isn’t required to betray your country. It’s enough to abuse power for personal gain.
"Giuliani doing it is bad enough. Trump is a different matter. It’s one thing when it’s done by the court jester, and another when done by the man who would be King."
Members of Congress are also looking into whether lawyer Rudy Giuliani went to the Ukraine in order to pressure the government to aid Trump's re-election by investigating the activities of Biden's son.
'OVERWHELMING ABUSE OF POWER'
It is unclear what allegations may have been levelled against 49-year-old Hunter - who had worked for Burisma Holdings, a major Ukrainian gas company.
The shocking revelations - first reported by the - prompted a furious response from the former Vice President.
Democrat 2020 frontrunner Joe, 76, said in a scathing statement on Friday that if the reports are true, "then there is truly no bottom to President Trump's willingness to abuse his power and abase our country."
He added that Trump should release the transcript of his July phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy "so that the American people can judge for themselves" and accused the president of “overwhelming abuse of power”.
The worrying claims are now at the heart of an explosive - but still confidential - whistleblower complaint against Trump.
'SIGNIFICANT' WHISTLE BLOWER CLAIMS
An anonymous intelligence official raised concerns on August 12 to the government's intelligence inspector general.
Those claims - described as "serious" and "urgent" - involve the "most significant" responsibilities of intelligence leadership.
But a defiant President Trump dismissed the allegations on Friday as originating from a "partisan whistleblower."
Trump insisted the unspecified allegations as "nothing" and "just another political hack job" - while scolding reporters for asking about it.
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Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump added: "I have conversations with many leaders. It's always appropriate. Always appropriate.
"At the highest level always appropriate. And anything I do, I fight for this country."
Democrats are calling for access to further details of the whistleblower's complaints amid allegations of a White House cover-up.
Mr Schiff asked: "If there's nothing wrong with Trump's call with the Ukrainian President, as he claims, why won’t he release the transcript?
"If there's nothing to implicate Trump in the whistleblower complaint, why won’t they release it to Congress?
"Clearly, they’re afraid. We must see both."
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Joe Biden slams other 2020 rivals for criticising former President Obama's policies
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