DOJ declined to investigate Trump Ukraine call

The Department of Justice declined to pursue an investigation into whether President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky violated campaign finance law, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The decision came after a whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community’s inspector general. That complaint was later sent to the Justice Department in August.

{mosads}The whistleblower complaint is at the center of an impeachment inquiry launched Tuesday by House Democrats who want to know whether Trump pressured Ukraine’s leaders to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, as well as whether aid to Ukraine was held up as part of that campaign.

Trump has denied those allegations.

The whistleblower complaint has not been seen by Congress, and it is not clear what allegations it makes beyond the question about a possible campaign finance violation. 

“Relying on established procedures set forth in the Justice Manual, the Department’s Criminal Division reviewed the official record of the call and determined, based on the facts and applicable law, that there was no campaign finance violation and that no further action was warranted,” Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement.

“All relevant components of the Department agreed with this legal conclusion, and the Department has concluded the matter,” she added.

The White House on Wednesday released a partial transcript of the July 25 call between Zelensky and Trump. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky to work with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and expressed hope that he could look into Biden’s role in the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor.

The Justice Department on Wednesday also released an Office of Legal Counsel opinion finding that the whistleblower complaint about Trump’s call was not an “urgent concern” and was not required to be transmitted to congressional intelligence committees.