A U.S. intelligence official’s whistleblower complaint released publicly Thursday details efforts by President Trump and his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The complaint also alleges that the White House moved to “lock down” the details of a July 25 call between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

These are the main players and events described in the whistleblower complaint that ultimately led to the start of an impeachment investigation.

Ukraine Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election in April. His call with Trump in July is at the center of the whistleblower complaint. Volodymyr Zelensky Petro Poroshenko President of Ukraine Former president of Ukraine According to the complaint, Giuliani circumvented the U.S. diplomats to contact Lutsenko and Zelenky’s team. Yuri Lutsenko Prosecutor general of Ukraine Trump circle William P. Barr Donald Trump Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States Attorney general President Trump’s personal attorney Intelligence community Joseph Maguire Michael Atkinson Whistleblower Acting director of nat. intelligence Inspector general of the intelligence community The whistleblower sent Atkinson a complaint to be handed to Congress, but Maguire decided not to share it. Ukraine Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election in April. His call with Trump in July is at the center of the whistleblower complaint. Volodymyr Zelensky Petro Poroshenko President of Ukraine Former president of Ukraine According to the complaint, Giuliani circumvented the U.S. diplomats to contact Lutsenko and Zelenky’s team. Yuri Lutsenko Prosecutor general of Ukraine Trump circle Donald Trump William P. Barr Rudolph W. Giuliani Attorney general President of the United States President Trump’s personal attorney Intelligence community Joseph Maguire Michael Atkinson Whistleblower Acting director of national intelligence Inspector general of the intelligence community The whistleblower sent Atkinson a complaint to be handed to Congress, but Maguire decided not to share it. Ukraine Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election in April. His call with Trump in July is at the center of the whistleblower complaint. Lutsenko was Poroshenko’s prosecutor general but stayed in the position under Zelensky. Yuri Lutsenko Petro Poroshenko Volodymyr Zelensky Prosecutor general of Ukraine Former president of Ukraine President of Ukraine Trump circle According to the complaint, Giuliani circumvented the U.S. diplomats to contact Lutsenko and Zelenky’s team. Donald Trump William P. Barr Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States Attorney general President Trump’s personal attorney Intelligence community The whistleblower sent Atkinson a complaint to be handed to Congress, but Maguire decided not to share it. Joseph Maguire Michael Atkinson Whistleblower Acting director of national intelligence Inspector general of the intelligence community Ukraine U.S. diplomats Trump circle Intelligence community U.S. House Petro Poroshenko Volodymyr Zelensky Marie Yovanovitch Donald Trump Joseph Maguire Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House President of Ukraine Former president of Ukraine Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine President of the United States Acting director of national intelligence Recalled in April Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election in April. His call with Trump in July is at the center of the whistleblower complaint. Adam B. Schiff William P. Barr Michael Atkinson Inspector general of the intelligence community Attorney general Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Yuri Lutsenko According to the complaint, Giuliani circumvented the U.S. diplomats to contact Lutsenko and Zelenky’s team. Prosecutor general of Ukraine Lutsenko was Poroshenko’s prosecutor general but stayed in the position under Zelensky. The whistleblower sent Atkinson a complaint to be handed to Congress, but Maguire decided not to share it. Rudolph W. Giuliani Whistleblower President Trump’s personal attorney Ukraine U.S. diplomats Trump circle Intelligence community U.S. House Petro Poroshenko Volodymyr Zelensky Marie Yovanovitch Donald Trump Joseph Maguire Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Acting director of national intelligence President of the United States Former president of Ukraine President of Ukraine Recalled in April Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election in April. His call with Trump in July is at the center of the whistleblower complaint. Adam B. Schiff William P. Barr Michael Atkinson Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Attorney general Inspector general of the intelligence community Yuri Lutsenko Prosecutor general of Ukraine According to the complaint, Giuliani circumvented the U.S. diplomats to contact Lutsenko and Zelenky’s team. Lutsenko was Poroshenko’s prosecutor general but stayed in the position under Zelensky. The whistleblower sent Atkinson a complaint to be handed to Congress, but Maguire decided not to share it. Rudolph W. Giuliani Whistleblower President Trump’s personal attorney

Ukrainian elections

Throughout the first months of 2019, Giuliani met with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko. Lutsenko publicly accused Ukrainian officials of working with the Democratic National Committee and U.S. Embassy in Kiev to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The prosecutor general also alleged that Joe Biden, then the vice president, had pressured the sitting Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, to close a purported criminal probe of an energy company for which Biden’s son Hunter was a board member. No evidence suggests the former vice president’s son was involved in any lawbreaking.

In several public comments, Lutsenko also stated that he wished to communicate directly with Attorney General William P. Barr on these matters.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky was trying to unseat Poroshenko in the Ukrainian presidential election. Zelensky made clear his desire to replace Lutsenko as prosecutor general.

Building relationships

Yuri Lutsenko Other Ukrainian officials Volodymyr Zelensky Prosecutor General of Ukraine President of Ukraine U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland reach out to Zelensky. Marie Yovanovitch Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Recalled in April Donald Trump Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States Donald Trump’s personal attorney Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to hold back nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Mick Mulvaney Director of Office of Management and Budget Yuri Lutsenko Other Ukrainian officials Volodymyr Zelensky Prosecutor general of Ukraine President of Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland reach out to Zelensky. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Recalled in April Donald Trump Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States President Trump’s personal attorney Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to hold back nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Mick Mulvaney Director of Office of Management and Budget Recalled in April Donald Trump Mick Mulvaney Marie Yovanovitch Volodymyr Zelensky Director of Office of Management and Budget President of Ukraine Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine President of the United States Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to hold back nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland reach out to Zelensky. Yuri Lutsenko Prosecutor general of Ukraine Other Ukrainian officials Rudolph W. Giuliani President Trump’s personal attorney Recalled in April Trump directs the Office of Management and Budget to hold back nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Donald Trump Mick Mulvaney Marie Yovanovitch Volodymyr Zelensky Director of Office of Management and Budget President of Ukraine Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine President of the United States U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland reach out to Zelensky. Yuri Lutsenko Prosecutor general of Ukraine Other Ukrainian officials Rudolph W. Giuliani President Trump’s personal attorney

On April 21, Volodymyr Zelensky won the Ukrainian election by a landslide, and Trump reached out in a brief congratulatory call. Just over a week later, Marie Yovanovitch, then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, was recalled to Washington by senior State Department officials. On May 6, her ambassadorship ended. The whistleblower alleges her assignment ended early because of pressure stemming from Lutsenko’s allegations.

Shortly after the Ukrainian election, associates of Giuliani begin to reach out to Zelensky’s incoming team. Giuliani met with multiple Ukrainian officials and sought to encourage them to pursue investigations beneficial to Trump’s reelection.

By mid-May, multiple U.S. officials were concerned about Giuliani’s engagement with Ukrainian officials. U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland tried to help Ukrainian leaders handle differing messages from Giuliani and official U.S. channels. At the same time, U.S. officials indicated that Ukrainian leadership was led to believe that a meeting or a phone call between the two presidents would depend on whether Zelensky showed a willingness to “play ball” on the issues raised by Lutsenko and Giuliani.

[Former Ukraine prosecutor says Hunter Biden ‘did not violate anything’]

In early July, Trump directly requested that the Office of Budget and Management withhold nearly $400 million in security assistance to Ukraine.

The call

Other Ukrainian officials Volodymyr Zelensky U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland meet with Zelensky the next day. President of Ukraine On the American side, many officials listen to the call. Records of the call Donald Trump Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States President Trump’s personal attorney Other U.S. officials Records of the call are stored on a secure system normally reserved for extremely sensitive information. Numerous officials have access to official records of the call Secure computer system Other Ukrainian officials Volodymyr Zelensky President of Ukraine U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland meet with Zelensky the next day. On the American side, many officials listen to the call. Records of the call Other U.S. officials Numerous officials have access to official records of the call Donald Trump Rudolph W. Giuliani President of the United States President Trump’s personal attorney Records of the call are stored on a secure system normally reserved for extremely sensitive information. Secure computer system On the American side, many officials listen to the call. Donald Trump Volodymyr Zelensky Records of the call President of Ukraine President of the United States Secure computer system Records of the call are stored on a secure system normally reserved for extremely sensitive information. Other U.S. officials U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland meet with Zelensky the next day. Numerous officials have access to official records of the call Other Ukrainian officials Rudolph W. Giuliani President Trump’s personal attorney On the American side, many officials listen to the call. Donald Trump Volodymyr Zelensky Records of the call President of Ukraine President of the United States Secure computer system Records of the call are stored on a secure system normally reserved for extremely sensitive information. Other U.S. officials U.S. diplomats Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland meet with Zelensky the next day. Numerous officials have access to official records of the call Other Ukrainian officials Rudolph W. Giuliani President Trump’s personal attorney

On the morning of July 25, a day after special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s testimony to Congress, Trump held a phone call with Zelensky. A dozen White House officials listened in, along with at least one State Department official.

On the call, Trump twice brought up that the United States had been “very, very good to Ukraine” before requesting investigations of 2016 election interference and alleged wrongdoings by the Biden family. Trump encouraged Zelensky to meet with Giuliani and Barr to further discuss.

Following the call, senior White House officials worked to “lock down” all records of the conversation. The transcript was stored in a computer system reserved for code-word-level intelligence information.

Diplomats Volker and Sondland met with Ukrainian leadership the day after the call, reportedly to provide advice on navigating demands Trump had made of Zelensky.

On Aug. 2, in a “direct follow-up” to the call, Giuliani met with one of Zelensky’s advisers in Madrid.

The whistleblower complaint

The whistleblower transmits the report to the Inspector General on Aug. 12 Whistleblower Michael Atkinson A half-dozen officials with knowledge of the situation report it to the whistleblower. Inspector general of the intelligence community Atkinson sends the report, finding it credible and urgent, to Maguire on Aug. 26. On Sept. 9, the IG notifies intelligence committees of the existence of the report. Maguire does not release the report until Sept. 24, following multiple requests from Schiff. Joseph Maguire Adam B. Schiff Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Acting director of nat. intelligence Maguire initially sends the complaint to the Justice Department, which determined it should not be shared with Congress. William P. Barr Attorney general The whistleblower transmits the report to the Inspector General on Aug. 12 Whistleblower Michael Atkinson A half-dozen officials with knowledge of the situation report it to the whistleblower. Inspector general of the intelligence community Atkinson sends the report, finding it credible and urgent, to Maguire on Aug. 26. On Sept. 9, the IG notifies intelligence committees of the existence of the report. Maguire does not release the report until Sept. 24, following multiple requests from Schiff. Adam B. Schiff Joseph Maguire Acting director of nat. intelligence Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Maguire initially sends the complaint to the Justice Department, which determined it should not be shared with Congress. William P. Barr Attorney general Atkinson determines that the report is both credible and urgent and sends it to the acting director of national intelligence on Aug. 26. The whistleblower transmits the report to the inspector general on Aug. 12 Joseph Maguire Michael Atkinson Whistleblower Inspector general of the intelligence community A half-dozen officials with knowledge of the situation report it to the whistleblower. Acting director of national intelligence On Sept. 9, the IG notifies intelligence committees of the existence of the report. Maguire does not release the report until Sept. 24, following multiple requests from Schiff. Maguire initially sends the complaint to the Justice Department, which determined it should not be shared with Congress. Adam B. Schiff William P. Barr Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Attorney general Atkinson determines that the report is both credible and urgent and sends it to the acting director of national intelligence on Aug. 26. The whistleblower transmits the report to the inspector general on Aug. 12 Joseph Maguire Michael Atkinson Whistleblower Inspector general of the intelligence community A half-dozen officials with knowledge of the situation report it to the whistleblower. Acting director of national intelligence Maguire does not release the report until Sept. 24, following multiple requests from Schiff. On Sept. 9, the IG notifies intelligence committees of the existence of the report. Maguire initially sends the complaint to the Justice Department, which determined it should not be shared with Congress. William P. Barr Adam B. Schiff Attorney general Chairman of House Intelligence Committee

On Aug. 12, a whistleblower filed a complaint regarding Trump’s Ukrainian relations to the inspector general of the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, based on conversations with more than half a dozen U.S. officials.

Two weeks later, Atkinson, finding the report credible and urgent, forwarded it to Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence. Maguire sought the advice of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council, which determined the complaint should not be shared with the House and Senate intelligence committees.

On Sept. 5, the first mentions of the whistleblower complaint are made public when The Washington Post’s editorial board wrote that it had been “reliably told” that Trump was “attempting to force Mr. Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.”

[Acting intelligence chief Maguire defends his handling of whistleblower complaint in testimony before Congress]

On Sept. 9, Atkinson notified the committees of the whistleblower complaint. The next day, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) requested the full whistleblower complaint from Maguire. When the request was denied on Sept. 13 — alleging reasons of confidentiality and potentially privileged communications — Schiff issued a subpoena, which Maguire did not comply with.

On Sept. 19, Atkinson met behind closed doors with the House Intelligence Committee but was not authorized to discuss the contents of the complaint.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Maguire to release the complaint, warning of “a whole new stage of the investigation.” On Sept. 24, she announced a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

The following morning, the White House released a detailed memorandum of the call between Trump and the Zelensky. Later, the whistleblower complaint, declassified by Maguire, was shared with Congress.

On Sept. 26, Trump and Zelensky met in New York during the U.N. General Assembly.



President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York on Sept. 25. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The key players

Ukrainian officials

Yuri Lutsenko: Ukrainian prosecutor general first appointed under then-President Petro Poroshenko. He publicly accused Ukrainian officials of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to benefit the Democrats and alleged that former vice president Biden had pressured Poroshenko to close a purported criminal probe of an energy company where Biden’s son Hunter was a board member.

Petro Poroshenko: Former Ukrainian president who appointed Yuri Lutsenko as prosecutor general and is accused of squashing a criminal probe of an energy company where Hunter Biden was a board member.

Volodymyr Zelensky: Current Ukrainian president, who held a July 25 phone call with Trump in which the U.S. president requested investigations of 2016 election interference and alleged wrongdoings of the Biden family.

U.S. diplomats

Marie Yovanovitch: Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The whistleblower alleges Yovanovitch’s term ended early because of pressure stemming from Lutsenko’s allegations.

Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland: U.S. diplomats in Europe who met with Ukrainian officials first to help them navigate differing messages from Giuliani and official U.S. channels, and then again the day after the July 25 call to provide advice on handling Trump’s demands.

Trump’s circle

Rudolph W. Giuliani: Trump’s personal attorney and former mayor of New York who met multiple times with Ukrainian officials urging them to investigate claims of 2016 election interference and alleged wrongdoings by the Biden family.

William P. Barr: The U.S. attorney general. In Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump encourages the Ukrainian president to meet with Barr to further discuss the investigations Trump suggested.

Donald Trump: The president of the United States. He pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to investigate 2016 election interference and alleged wrongdoings by the Biden family.

Intelligence community

The whistleblower: An anonymous U.S. government official who wrote a complaint outlining how Trump and Giuliani urged Ukrainian officials to investigate the Biden family and the White House’s alleged attempts to cover it up.

Michael Atkinson: Inspector general of the intelligence community who first reviewed the whistleblower complaint, forwarding it to Joseph Maguire and later alerting Congress to its existence.

Joseph Maguire: Acting director of national intelligence who did not share the whistleblower complaint with the House and Senate intelligence committees until weeks after a request and subpoena from the House panel’s chairman, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.).

House Democrats

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.): House speaker who urged Maguire to release the whistleblower complaint and two days later announced a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.): Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He initially learned from Atkinson of the existence of the whistleblower complaint and repeatedly pushed Maguire to release it.

Other

Hunter Biden: Son of former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden. He sat on the board of an Ukrainian energy company. Trump and Giuliani pushed Ukrainian officials for an investigation of allegations that the former vice president pressured sitting Ukraine’s then-president, Petro Poroshenko, to drop a criminal probe of the energy company. No evidence suggests Hunter Biden was involved in any lawbreaking.

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Read the whistleblower complaint

Barr, Giuliani, Schiff and Trump images from The Washington Post; Lutsenko image from AFP/Getty Images; Maguire image from Getty; Poroshenko and Yovanovitch images from AP; Pelosi image from Getty; Atkinson image from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence