Trump has called for China to investigate his leading political rival, in defiance of impeachment proceedings in Congress where he stands accused of abusing his office to put similar pressure on Ukraine.

At the same time as calling for an investigation of the former vice-president and frontrunner in the Democratic primary, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter, Trump noted that the US was in trade talks with China and “if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous, tremendous power.”

…Hunter Biden was on the board of an energy company in the eastern European country, where Joe Biden, as vice-president, pressed for the dismissal of the chief prosecutor. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by father or son.

Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong in his dealings with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelinskiy, and has even accused an intelligence whistleblower of treason for providing evidence that the president used the power of his office – the withholding of military aid and a summit meeting – for his own political ends.

However, Trump appeared to do just that in front of the cameras on the White House lawn on Thursday, when he openly called for Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens.

…Trump’s China comments seemed likely to broaden the impeachment enquiry, which is already at fever pitch in Congress.

Trump calls on China to investigate Biden in extraordinary demand | US news | The Guardian

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