'Nobody Pushed Me.'Ukrainian President Denies

Trump Pressured Him toInvestigate Biden's Son

BY TARA LAW

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat

beside President Donald Trump on Wednesday

as he denied that Trump pressured him to

investigate former Vice President and current

2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son for

his work in the country.

The two leaders held a meeting at the U.N. one

day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that

the House would launch a formal impeachment

inquiry into Trump following reports of the

President’s phone call with Zelensky in July.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Zelensky

declared that he had not been pressured during

the July phone call, and insisted that he does

not want to interfere in a foreign election.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House

released a summary of the phone call, which is

comprised of “notes and recollections” from

staff assigned to listen to the call and is not a

transcript of the call.

In one exchange from the White House memo,

Zelensky thanks Trump for his support of

Ukraine’s defense. Trump responds, “I would

like you to do us a favor though” and asks for

Ukraine to investigate a matter related to the

2016 hacking of Democratic National

Committee servers.

“I think you read everything. I think you read

text,” Zelensky said to the gathered reporters

on Wednesday. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to

be involved to democratic, open elections of

U.S.A. No, you heard that we had good phone

call. It was normal, we spoke about many

things. I think, and you read it, that nobody

pushed me.”

“So no pressure,” Trump added.

President Trump has been embroiled in

controversy since last week, when reports

emerged that a whistleblower in the U.S.

intelligence community had filed a complaint

about a phone call between the two heads of

state. An official said that the whistleblower

“found troubling” “certain representations

concerning U.S. policy” during the call.

Trump had previously admitted that he and

Zelensky discussed former Biden’s son Hunter

Biden during the phone call, but has denied

that the call went into inappropriate territory

and has insisted there was “no quid pro quo.”

The Washington Post reported last week that

Trump froze nearly $400 million in aid from

the country at least a week before the July 25

phone call with Zelensky. The funds were

eventually released on Sept. 11.

Taking questions in Ukrainian and English on

Wednesday, Zelensky said that he doesn’t have

the authority to pressure Ukrainian law

enforcement, and did not attempt to do so.

“We have an independent country and

independent general security. I can’t push

anyone,” Zelensky said.

Trump again accused the former Vice

President’s son of corruption, although this

claim has not been substantiated with

evidence. Joe Biden said this past weekend that

he “never” spoke with his son about the

younger Biden’s overseas dealings.

WRITE TO TARA LAW AT TARA.LAW@TIME.COM.

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