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Agencies

Two US officials say Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the July 25 call between Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president that is at the centre of a whistle-blower complaint that has prompted an impeachment inquiry into the US president.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter.
It was the first confirmation that a Cabinet official was on the call in which Trump pressed President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate democratic rival Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s membership on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
It also increases the number of people known to have first-hand knowledge of a call that has sparked an impeachment inquiry by Congress.




The US State Department had no comment. House Democrats subpoenaed Pompeo for Ukraine-related documents on Friday as part of the impeachment probe.
On Monday, the lawmakers followed up by slapping Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani with a similar subpoena.
Trump asked Australian PM to help discredit Mueller, report says
The subpoena “compels you to produce the documents set forth in the accompanying schedule by October 15, 2019”, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff and the chairs of two other panels conducting investigations wrote to Giuliani.
The chairmen are seeking all communications by Giuliani and three of his business associates related to Trump’s alleged effort to pressure Zelensky to launch “politically motivated investigations” against Biden and his son.
Trump’s Ukraine call is now at the heart of the rapidly unfolding impeachment drama, which Trump insists is a “witch hunt” against him.
Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, admitted on live television last week that as Trump’s lawyer he asked the government of Ukraine to target former vice-president Biden, the chairmen said.
“In addition to this stark admission, you stated more recently that you are in possession of evidence – in the form of text messages, phone records, and other communications – indicating that you were not acting alone and that other Trump Administration officials may have been involved in this scheme,” they wrote to Giuliani.
Giuliani has emerged as Trump’s point man in the Ukraine scandal, which mushroomed last week following the revelation of a whistle-blower’s complaint alleging presidential wrongdoing and the White House’s release of a memorandum on Trump’s July phone call with Zelensky.

Giuliani has acknowledged meeting with Zelensky aides in Spain. Last week, he told Fox News that he met the aides “at the request of the State Department” and that he has the memos to prove it.
On Sunday, Giuliani said he would consider complying with a subpoena if it was issued, but it would be up to Trump.
“I have to be guided by my client, frankly,” Giuliani said on ABC.
Explained: how Ukraine found itself at the heart of the Trump impeachment scandal
Schiff and the other chairmen, Eliot Engel of House foreign affairs and Elijah Cummings of the oversight committee, signalled they do not believe the documents sought would be privileged.
And they warned Giuliani that refusal to comply with the subpoena “shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the president”.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse


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US President Donald Trump (right) calls on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to speak during a presidential memorandum signing in the Oval Office in February. Photo: Reuters

epa07883527 (FILE) - Attorney to US President Donald J. Trump, Rudy Giuliani attends the White House Sports and Fitness Day at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 30 May 2018 (reissued 30 September 2019). The House Committees of Foreign Affairs, Oversight, and Intelligence issued a subpoena for Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyers, demanding that he produce communications and records related to Ukraine in connection with the impeachment inquiry. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS *** Local Caption *** 54373199

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President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he steps off Air Force One. Photo: AP Photo

epa07878217 US President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House after spending the day golfing in Washington, DC, USA, 28 September 2019. EPA-EFE/Tasos Katopodis / POOL

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., steps away from a podium after reading a statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. Photo: Reuters

epa07873322 (FILE) - Ukrainian Presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky reacts at a polling station during Presidential elections in Kiev, Ukraine, 21 April 2019 (reissued 27 September 2019). An impeachment inquiry against US President Donald J. Trump has been initiated following a whistleblower complaint over his dealings with Ukraine. The whistleblower alleges that Trump during a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky had demanded Ukrainian investigations into US Presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's business involvement in Ukraine. EPA-EFE/STEPAN FRANKO *** Local Caption *** 55139356

epa07872759 (FILE) - Then US Vice President Joe Biden (R) tours a Hutong alley with his son Hunter Biden (L) in Beijing, China, 05 December 2013 (reissued 27 September 2019). An impeachment inquiry against US President Donald J. Trump has been initiated following a whistleblower complaint over his dealings with Ukraine. The whistleblower alleges that Trump had demanded Ukrainian investigations into US Presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's business involvement in Ukraine. EPA-EFE/ANDY WONG / POOL

epa07873332 (FILE) - US President Donald J. Trump (L) hands over the podium to US Attorney General William Barr (R) while participating in an announcement on US citizenship and the census, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 11 July 2019 (reissued 27 September 2019). An impeachment inquiry against US President Donald J. Trump has been initiated following a whistleblower complaint over his dealings with Ukraine. The whistleblower alleges that Trump had in a phone conversation with Ukraine President Zelensky demanded Ukrainian investigations into US Presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's business involvement in Ukraine. In the telephone call, Trump refers to his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and US Attorney General William Barr several times. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS *** Local Caption *** 55331680

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a rally to support a leadership change in Iran outside the U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2012, file photo, Hunter Biden waits for the start of the his father's, Vice President Joe Biden's, debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. In 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden was at the forefront of American diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine's fragile democratic government as it sought to fend off Russian aggression and root out corruption. So it raised eyebrows when Biden's son Hunter was hired by a Ukrainian gas company. President Donald Trump prodded Ukraine's president to help him investigate any corruption related to Joe Biden, now one of the top Democrats seeking to defeat Trump in 2020. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: AFP

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Secretary of state’s involvement marks first confirmation that a Cabinet official was on US president’s call with foreign leader
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Secretary of state’s involvement marks first confirmation that a Cabinet official was on call at centre of impeachment investigation.
