White House Accidentally Sends Ukraine Talking Points to Democrats

This comes in the middle of a firestorm of allegations of Trump pressuring Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden.

US President Donald Trump

(Photo: AP)

In an unprecedented error, the White House accidentally emailed talking points intended for Republican recipients on US President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to House Democrats.

The White House, realising its error, later sent another email to the Democrats, recalling the original message.

This incident comes in the middle of a firestorm caused by allegations of Trump pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to restart an investigation into his political rival and Former US Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The gaffe prompted Democrats to announce a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump, after which a rough transcript of the phone conversation was released.

WHAT ARE THE TALKING POINTS?

The circulated document encourages its recipients to dismiss allegations of misconduct levelled against Trump by referring to the contents of the transcript.

Here are the talking points:

• Press reports have promoted falsehoods about the call.
• No explicit promise was made to Zelensky in return for investigating Biden and his son. No mentions of military aid to Ukraine were made.
• By suggesting an investigation into Biden and his son, Trump was ensuring allegations of abuse of power be looked into. This doesn't amount to seeking foreign interference in the upcoming US election.
• The complaint made by the whistle-blower was handled by the book.
• The opposition and the media are damaging national security by releasing confidential information for political gains.

WHAT IS THE TRUMP-UKRAINE CONTROVERSY?

The controversy began when an intelligence official with access to the contents of Trump’s phone call filed a complaint with her superiors, according to The New York Times.

This complaint was withheld from the US Congress, causing Democrats to protest and subsequently announce an impeachment enquiry.

Joe Biden, who was vice president under the Obama administration, is running in the upcoming 2020 US presidential elections.

In the released transcripts, Trump alludes to accusations that Biden stopped a Ukrainian investigation into a company of which his son, Hunter Biden, was a board member.

However, no evidence supporting this claim has emerged and Democrats allege that Trump pressured Zelensky to open an investigation to undermine Biden as a political rival and effectively interfere with the presidential elections.

(With inputs from The New York Times)