Former President Donald Trump called for Congress to halt all U.S. military support to Ukraine until federal agencies disclose all information they possess regarding President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. During a Saturday night rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump delved into allegations of corruption surrounding the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.
Trump complained about the Biden family allegedly receiving millions of dollars from Ukraine while the country gets billions in aid from American taxpayers. He asserted that Joe Biden’s actions were compromised, accusing him of involving the United States in global conflicts on behalf of Ukraine, which supposedly paid his family substantial sums.
As part of his speech, Trump proposed holding back Ukrainian aid to pressure the Biden administration into cooperating fully with investigations being conducted by Congressional Republicans. He even threatened to endorse primary opponents of Republicans who failed to align with his agenda.
In light of these allegations, Trump urged Congress not to approve any additional shipment of weapons to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ, and IRS provide all evidence of the Biden family’s corrupt business dealings.
For several months, Republicans have been pushing claims that Biden engaged in corrupt practices involving foreign money while serving as vice president, in what they describe as an influence-peddling scheme. They have also echoed long-standing accusations that Biden influenced the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma, a company on which Hunter Biden sat on the board.
However, it is essential to note that Biden’s call for the prosecutor’s removal was consistent with the U.S. government’s official stance and anti-corruption advocates’ positions. Moreover, the Burisma investigation was dormant then, suggesting that the replacement prosecutor should have intensified scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s activities.
Trump’s proposal to withhold Ukrainian aid raises concerns similar to the quid pro quo he previously demanded, leading to his first impeachment trial in 2019. At that time, Trump said he would withhold any Ukraine military aid to President Volodymyr Zelensky until an intensive investigation of the Biden family finances was undertaken.
This withholding of support was going on at the time Joe Biden was Trump’s 2020 political rival.
