(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden opened a California fundraiser on Thursday by giving a reading of the whistle-blower complaint about Donald Trump's attempts to get Ukraine to investigate Biden's son.
The former vice president read excerpts from the report, highlighting the whistle-blower saying Trump tried to use “the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.”
Biden quoted the whistle-blower, saying, “‘I am deeply concerned that the actions described below constitute a serious and flagrant problem, abuse, and violation of law or executive order. I am also concerned that these actions pose risks to U.S. national security, undermine the U.S. government's efforts to deter and counter foreign interference in U.S. elections.'”
Trump asked the Ukraine president to investigate a debunked claim that Biden intervened in Ukraine to help his son, Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
Biden rejected Trump's suggestion that he had acted improperly and continued to frame Trump's actions as part of a pattern of abuse of power.
“But folks, this isn't about me. It's never been about me,” he said. “It's a tactic that's used by this president to try to hijack an election, so we do not focus on the issues that matter in our lives, in your lives.”
Trump has acknowledged that he sought the investigation but denies that it was part of a quid pro quo with the Ukrainian president involving the sale of U.S. weapons.
Biden, as vice president, represented the U.S in pressuring Ukraine to fire its general prosecutor as part of an anti-corruption push by the U.S., European countries and others. The investigation into Hunter Biden was dormant for more than a year, Ukrainian officials say, and there is no evidence Biden did anything beyond his duties.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley
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