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Trump pressured Ukraine president to investigate Biden: reports

Reuters Videos

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly pressured Ukraine's president to investigate Joe Biden and his son in a July phone call, according to reports on Friday by the Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media outlets.

The call - featured in a classified whistleblower complaint that has sparked a political battle between Democrats warning of a national security threat and Republicans turning it into an attack on Biden, a frontrunner in the field of Democrats seeking to challenge Trump in the 2020 race.

Reuters has not confirmed details of the complaint. But a source familiar with the matter said it alleged "multiple acts" by Trump, not just a phone call with a foreign leader.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

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"It’s a political hack job!”

Despite claiming not to know the identity of the whistleblower, trump on Friday dismissed the complaint as politically motivated.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"It's a partisan whistle blow. They shouldn't even have information. I've had many conversations with leaders, they're always appropriate."Trump had spoken with Ukraine's recently elected president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, less than three weeks before the complaint was filed.

Trump is due to meet Zelenskiy during a United Nations gathering in New York.

Trump’s attorney rudy Giuliani has alleged that as vice president, Biden sought the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating his son's business dealings.

Biden and his son have denied the charge.In a statement, Biden said the reports about Trump's pressure on the call - if true - showed the president abused his office for his own gain. Biden urged the White House to release a transcript of the call and allow Congress to hear from the whistleblower.

An intelligence community watchdog determined that the whistleblower complaint was credible and should be shared with congressional leaders through a process laid out by U.S. law.

That determination was overridden by acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire after consulting with the Justice Department, which is headed by Trump appointee William Barr.

Maguire is slated to testify next week at the House Intelligence Committee.