HOT WATER

Intelligence Officials Referred Trump-Ukraine Phone Call to Justice Department as ‘Possible Crime’

A transcript of the call was released by the White House on Wednesday.

President Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was so alarming that intelligence officials referred the matter to the Justice Department as a possible violation of campaign-finance law, The Washington Post reports. Prosecutors ultimately concluded last week that Trump’s conduct in the July 25 phone call—a transcript of which was released by the White House on Wednesday—was not criminal, senior Justice Department officials told the newspaper. During the phone call, Trump told Zelensky to work with U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr on an investigation into his political rival Joe Biden and his son. “I would like you to do us a favor,” Trump said after his Ukrainian counterpart brought up receiving military aid from the U.S.