Volodymyr Zelensky awaits results of Ukraine’s presidential election on April 21, 2019. Image by GENYA SAVILOV/Getty Images

President Trump pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky several times to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In a July phone call, Trump asked Zelensky, a Jewish former comedian who won the presidency in April, to work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to learn if Biden, when he was vice president, attempted to cover up an investigation of a Ukrainian gas company that has ties to his son Hunter Biden, the Journal reported.

Trump asked Zelensky eight times.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“He told him that he should work with [Mr. Giuliani] on Biden, and that people in Washington wanted to know” whether allegations were true or not, a source said.

That person said that he didn’t think Trump offered Zelensky foreign aid, nor a favor in return.

According to the Journal, a Ukrainian official said there was no evidence Joe or Hunter Biden did anything wrong.

Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount