Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/98

 Trump: the "involvement of the former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s son" on the board of a Ukrainian gas company and 2016 election interference. In those statements, Mr. Giuliani clarified that "my only client is the President of the United States," and that this wasn't "foreign policy," but rather "information that will be very, very helpful" to President Trump. Ambassadors Sondland and Volker were also enlisted by President Trump to work with Mr. Giuliani and "obtain the necessary assurance from President Zelensky that he would personally commit to initiate the investigations," and each had delivered their messages to the Ukrainians prior to the call. On July 2 in Toronto, Ambassador Volker "conveyed the message directly to President Zelensky, specifically referencing the 'Giuliani factor.'" On July 19, Ambassador Sondland emailed several top Administration officials, confirming that Ambassador Sondland had "talked to Zelensky just now," and that President Zelensky was "prepared to receive Potus' call" and "assure [President Trump] that he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will 'turn over every stone.'" On the morning of the July 25 call, Ambassador Volker texted President Zelensky's aide: "Heard from White House—assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate / 'get to the bottom of what happened' in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington. Good luck!"

On the July 25 call itself, when President Zelensky thanked President Trump for "great support in the area of defense" and raised the matter of purchasing anti-tank missiles from the United States, President Trump responded, "I would like you to do us a favor though." That "favor," President Trump then made clear, was for Ukraine to investigate the 2016 United States Presidential election, as well as former Vice President Biden and his son. These were the same two investigations that Mr. Giuliani had repeatedly, publicly stated in the preceding months were of "intense interest" to President Trump. President Zelensky understood what President Trump meant about the connection between a meeting and these investigations: "I also wanted to thank you for your invitation to visit the United States, specifically Washington D.C. On the other hand, I also want to ensure [sic] you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation." President Zelensky also confirmed that his staff assistant had spoken to Mr. Giuliani, and President Trump reaffirmed that Mr. Giuliani "very much knows what's going on."

The pressure for the investigations continued after the call, as well. Several weeks later, on August 9, when discussing possible dates for a White House visit, Ambassador Sondland wrote to Ambassador Volker: "I think potus really wants the deliverable." The next day, President Zelensky's aide texted Ambassador Volker about setting a date for the meeting before making a statement