Trump ‘did not pressure’ Ukrainian leader to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Pompeo claims

Dave Maclean

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has insisted that Donald Trump did not apply pressure to the Ukrainian president during a phone call, after a ​whistleblower reportedly warned officials that the US president had urged him to launch a probe into Joe Biden's son.

In an interview with ABC's This Week, he accused Mr Trump's political rival of intervening "in a way that was corrupt" to protect his son from an investigation in Ukraine.

On Saturday, Mr Biden called for a probe of Mr Trump over the whistleblower's claims, saying: “Here’s what I know: I know Trump deserves to be investigated.”

He said Mr Trump “is violating every basic norm of a president” and urged reporters to ask Mr Trump "why is he on the phone with a foreign leader, trying to intimidate a foreign leader, if that’s what happened”.

Mr Biden said that the president was using underhand tactics against him, because "he knows I'd beat him like a drum".

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