There are many unanswered questions about a whistleblower's complaint that reportedly says President Donald Trump's made an inappropriate, even alarming "promise" involving Ukraine. For starters, it's not publicly known who the whistleblower is or what he or she is specifically alleging.
But there has been a flurry of recent disclosures related to Trump and top advisers on Ukraine that are drawing scrutiny. Leading Democratic investigators question whether Trump briefly withheld security aid to Ukraine to pressure the Ukrainian government and new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to conduct investigations that might help him politically. Trump was asked about the matter Friday and did not deny discussing an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden with Zelenskiy.
The New York Times and The Washington Post reported Sept. 19 that the whistleblower's complaint involves Trump and Ukraine.
Here's a brief timeline of relevant facts and events:
— May 9, 2019: Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, acknowledges he plans to travel to Ukraine to urge the new government to investigate the role Biden's son Hunter had in a gas company owned by a Ukrainian businessman. Giuliani says he will also press for a review of allegations circulating in conservative circles that Ukraine may have helped Hillary Clinton's campaign. Giuliani cancels the trip amid criticism but continues his lobbying campaign over ensuing months.
—July 25, 2019: Zelenskiy and Trump have a phone conversation. The Ukrainian readout describes Trump as "convinced that the new Ukrainian government will be able to quickly improve image of Ukraine, complete investigation of corruption cases, which inhibited the interaction between Ukraine and the USA." A less detailed White House readout said Trump called Zelenskiy "to congratulate him on his recent election."
—Aug. 12, 2019: The inspector general of the intelligence community receives a complaint from a whistleblower describing an "urgent concern." Over the ensuing two weeks, Inspector General Michael Atkinson investigates the complaint, determines that it meets the definition of an "urgent concern," which could include a violation of the law or an executive order, and finds the complaint "credible."
—Aug. 28, 2019: Politico reports that Trump has put a hold on $250 million in military aid to Ukraine.
—Sept. 9, 2019: Atkinson reveals the existence of the whistleblower's complaint to lawmakers and the refusal of the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, to transmit it to the intelligence committees as directed by the law. Atkinson notes that Maguire disagreed with his conclusions and appeared to be treating the complaint differently than in similar past cases.
Separately, three House committees announce a joint investigation into Giuliani's activities in Ukraine, writing the administration seeking information and documents about Trump's and Giuliani's efforts "to coerce the Ukrainian government into pursuing two politically-motivated investigations under the guise of anti-corruption activity."
—Sept. 11-12, 2019: In advance of a Senate Appropriations Committee vote designed to force the release of the $250 million military aid package, the administration relents and frees up the military aid, along with $142 billion in State Department funds. The panel is laden with Republicans sympathetic to Ukraine.
—Sept. 13, 2019: The House intelligence committee chairman, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., demands in letters that the whistleblower complaint be turned over to him in keeping with the law and past practice. Maguire refuses, and Schiff issues a subpoena for the complaint on Sept. 13. Maguire again refuses, claiming Schiff does not have a right to the document under a technical reading of the stature because the complaint concerns the "conduct by someone outside the intelligence community." Maguire also says he is too busy to immediately testify before Schiff's committee. A hearing is slated for Sept. 26.
—Sept. 19, 2019: The Washington Post and The New York Times report that the whistleblower's complaint involves Trump's call with the Ukrainian president. Giuliani makes an appearance on CNN and acknowledges he pressed Ukraine to investigate Biden.
—Sept. 20, 2019: Trump is asked if be brought up Biden in the call with Zelenskiy. He replies, "It doesn't matter what I discussed." He also uses the moment to urge the media "to look into" Biden's background with Ukraine.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive exchange, said that the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other western officials that doing so would result in more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Biden administration has said there could be consequences for Israel should it move forward with the operation without a credible plan to safeguard civilians.
“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday at the Sedona Forum, an event in Arizona hosted by the McCain Institute.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians have sheltered in the southern Gaza city as the territory has been ravaged by the war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
The United Nations humanitarian aid agency on Friday said that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel moves forward with the Rafah assault. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
The officials added that the evacuation plan that the Israelis briefed was not finalized and both sides agreed to keep discussing the matter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that no “comprehensive” plan for a potential Rafah operation has been revealed by the Israelis to the White House. The operation, however, has been discussed during recent calls between Biden and Netanyahu as well as during recent virtual talks with top Israeli and U.S. national security officials.
“We want to make sure that those conversations continue because it is important to protect those Palestinian lives — those innocent lives,” Jean-Pierre said.
The revelation of Israel's continued push to carry out a Rafah operation came as CIA director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas is considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release put forward by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who are looking to avert the Rafah operation.
They have publicly pressed Hamas to accept the terms of the deal that would lead to an extended cease-fire and an exchange of Israeli hostages taken captive on Oct. 7 and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas has said it will send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days for further discussions on the offer, though it has not specified when.
Israel, and its allies, have sought to increase pressure on Hamas on the hostage negotiation. Signaling that Israel continues to move forward with its planning for a Rafah operation could be a tactic to nudge the militants to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck. His comments appeared to be meant to appease his nationalist governing partners, and it was not clear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas.
Blinken visited the region, including Israel, this week and called the latest proposal “extraordinarily generous” and said “the time to act is now.”
In Arizona on Friday, Blinken repeated remarks he made earlier this week that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas.”
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
FILE - Palestinians line up for free food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Jan. 9, 2024. A top U.N. official said Friday, May 3, 2024, that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in “full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)
Palestinians rescue a woman survived after the Israeli bombardment on a residential building of Abu Alenan family in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House as he talks with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from a trip to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
