This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
US President Donald Trump has been at the center of an impeachment inquiry in the US Congress, with the Democratic leadership probing whether he abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his 2020 presidential election rival Joe Biden.
On Friday, Trump refused to confirm whether he would cooperate with the investigation, saying "I don't know; that's up to the lawyers." The statement was made at the White House, where Trump has been facing intense scrutiny over his dealings with Ukraine.
The White House is reportedly set to tell Congress that it will not cooperate with demands for evidence and testimony, with the Trump administration wanting the Democrats to hold a vote formally opening the impeachment inquiry first.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, insisting that his only interest was "looking at corruption." However, his opponents say he has pushed foreign leaders to probe Biden as a way to smear the man currently leading the pack in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Trump has claimed that Biden and his son were involved in corruption in Ukraine, but there is no credible evidence available to support this claim.
