Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/115

 United States Presidential election. Like the others conjectured by the Minority, this explanation is contradicted by the facts, the President's own statements, and common sense.

First, this theory presumes that the President was motivated by an overriding concern about events that occurred in 2015 and 2016—and that were widely reported at the time. Yet it was not until 2019 that the President requested these investigations and placed a hold on assistance to Ukraine. In other words, President Trump requested the investigations only after Vice President Biden had entered the 2020 presidential race and began beating him in the polls—thus giving him a personal and political motive to harm Vice President Biden publicly—and only after Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation affirmed the Intelligence Community Assessment's finding that Russia interfered in our election, and that it did so in a "sweeping and systematic" fashion in order to benefit President Trump. The timing of President Trump's solicitation and pressure campaign, so shortly after Vice President Biden announced his candidacy and the Special Counsel Mueller's report was released, is powerful proof of the President's true motives for seeking the investigations.

Second, as explained above, had President Trump genuinely believed there was a legitimate basis to request Ukraine's assistance in law enforcement investigations, there are specific formal processes that he should have followed. Specifically, he could have instructed DOJ to make an official request for assistance through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). But even though the United States and Ukraine have entered into an MLAT, multiple witnesses and DOJ itself have confirmed that there was never an official United States investigation into the Bidens' conduct in Ukraine, nor was there an official request to Ukraine for an investigation into its alleged interference in the 2016 United States Presidential election. The President's failure to follow legitimate procedures is further proof that he was acting improperly.

Third, the role of Mr. Giuliani also belies the suggestion that this was about legitimate United States investigations. Mr. Giuliani is not a representative of the United States government and had no formal role in facilitating Ukraine's involvement in United States criminal investigations. His