For the first time, media outlets obtained a "damaging" recording of Rudy Giuliani, attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump, urging Ukrainian authorities explicitly to tarnish the reputation of current President Joe Biden. According to the U.S. news network CNN, a leaked phone call revealed a discussion between Rudy Giuliani, personal lawyer to former President Trump, and Ukrainian authorities aimed at damaging Biden's image in 2019 prior to the U.S. presidential elections.
During the call, Giuliani can be heard speaking with Andriy Yermak, the chief advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The subject of Trump’s call to the Ukrainian president was the main point upon which Trump’s impeachment trial was based, as it demonstrated his attempts to win the election unfairly.
According to CNN, Giuliani's call lasted 40 minutes, during which Trump’s lawyer was passionately trying to pressure the Ukrainians to find corruption cases implicating candidate Joe Biden in any way. Giuliani stated during the call, "All we want from the president (Zelensky) is to investigate and search for evidence and work hard on Biden's involvement in Ukraine's 2016 elections, then you should publish evidence about Biden. You need to take it seriously."
Giuliani promised the Ukrainians that if they succeeded in spreading damaging news about Biden, the reward would be an improvement in relations between Ukraine and the United States. Giuliani spent many months in talks with Ukraine to find cases that would implicate Biden and weaken his chances before the elections.
