Trump’s Efforts to Push Ukraine Toward a Biden Inquiry: A Timeline
Zelensky
Ukrainian president
Biden
2020 candidate
President
Trump
Pressures
to investigate
Biden
Signals
openness to
investigate
Instructs to
withhold aid
to Ukraine
Raise corruption
accusations against
Says would be in
touch with Mr. Zelensky
Mulvaney
Acting chief
of staff
Barr
Attorney
general
Giuliani
Personal
lawyer
Zelensky
Ukrainian president
President
Trump
Pressures
to investigate
Biden
Signals
openness to
investigate
Raises
corruption
accusations
against
Biden
2020 candidate
Instructs to
withhold aid
to Ukraine
Says would be
in touch with
Mr. Zelensky
Mulvaney
Acting chief
of staff
Barr
Attorney
general
Giuliani
Personal
lawyer
President Trump repeatedly pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate people and issues of political concern to Mr. Trump, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Here’s a timeline of events since January.
What Trump did
What else was happening
January
President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, meets in New York for hours with a Ukrainian prosecutor. Mr. Giuliani pushes for information about — and investigations into — Mr. Trump’s rivals, including Mr. Biden. Mr. Giuliani briefs Mr. Trump on his efforts.
April 7
On Fox News, Mr. Giuliani suggests that Mr. Biden, in an effort to benefit his son Hunter Biden, pushed for the dismissal of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was looking into the owner of a company that was paying his son. Mr. Giuliani also calls for an investigation into Ukraine’s involvement in the origins of the inquiries into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.
April 21
Mr. Trump calls Ukraine’s president-elect, Volodymyr Zelensky, to congratulate him, and asks Mr. Zelensky to pursue investigations of “corruption.”
April 25
On Fox News, Mr. Trump suggests he would like Attorney General William P. Barr to review information gathered by Ukrainian prosecutors about what the network host Sean Hannity suggests was Ukrainian “collusion” with Democrats in 2016.
May 6
The Trump administration recalls the United States ambassador to Ukraine, Marie L. Yovanovitch. Conservative allies of Mr. Trump had come to believe she was not sufficiently supportive of the president.
May 9
The New York Times reports that Mr. Giuliani was planning a trip to Kiev to push the incoming government to press ahead with investigations into Mr. Biden, and into possible Ukrainian connections to the origins of the Mueller probe.
May 10
Mr. Trump tells Politico that it would be “appropriate” for him to speak to Mr. Barr about launching an investigation into the Bidens’ work in Ukraine, and that he plans to speak with Mr. Giuliani about his trip to Ukraine.
A few hours later
Mr. Giuliani cancels his trip to Kiev.
Mid-May
Mr. Trump tells Vice President Mike Pence to cancel a trip to attend Mr. Zelensky’s inauguration, a whistle-blower alleged in a complaint released Thursday. Other administration officials, including Rick Perry, the secretary of energy, attend instead.
May 23
After a U.S. delegation returns from a trip to Mr. Zelensky’s inauguration, Mr. Trump is briefed on their favorable impressions of the new Ukrainian leader. Mr. Trump responds that he thinks all Ukrainian politicians are corrupt.
June 13
Mr. Trump indicates to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he would accept damaging information on a political rival from a foreign government.
July 10
Over breakfast at the Trump Hotel, Mr. Zelensky’s aide, Andriy Yermak, asks Kurt Volker, the United States special envoy for Ukraine, to connect him to Mr. Giuliani.
A few days later
Mr. Yermak talks to Mr. Giuliani by phone for the first time.
Mid-July
Mr. Trump instructs Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, to hold back almost $400 million in aid to Ukraine.
July 25
Mr. Trump speaks to Mr. Zelensky by phone and asks for a “favor”: Ukraine's help in looking into an unfounded conspiracy theory holding that Ukrainians — and not the Russian government — were involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Trump goes on to cite his desire to look at Mr. Biden and his son, and suggests that Mr. Zelensky work with Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Barr.
After the call
According to the complaint, White House officials are directed to move the transcript of the call into an electronic system that is normally used for sensitive, classified information — “not the first time” a transcript is placed there to protect politically sensitive material.
July 26
Mr. Volker and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, advise Ukrainian leadership on how to navigate Mr. Trump’s demands during meetings in Kiev, the complaint alleges.
Early August
Mr. Giuliani meets in Madrid with a top aide to Mr. Zelensky to encourage the Ukrainian government to investigate Mr. Trump’s political opponents.
Sept. 9
William B. Taylor Jr., the top American diplomat in Ukraine, sends a text message to Mr. Volker and Mr. Sondland saying that “I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
Sept. 9
The intelligence community inspector general sends a letter to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees informing them of the existence of a whistle-blower complaint.
Sept. 9
The House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight Committees launch an investigation into whether Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani are abusing the U.S. foreign policy apparatus for political gain.
Sept. 11
The White House informs senators that it is releasing the Ukraine military assistance it had been withholding.
Sept. 22
Mr. Trump acknowledges that he raised corruption accusations against Mr. Biden during a phone call with Ukraine’s leader.
Sept. 24
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump.