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Texts show reactions to Trump demands on Ukraine

In the texts, former Ukrainian envoy Kurt Volker and two other diplomats discuss how to navigate Trump’s requests for the probe into his political rival.
Credit: AP
Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, is leaving after a closed-door interview with House investigators as House Democrats proceed with the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON — Three House committees have released dozens of texts between U.S. diplomats in Ukraine discussing how to handle a response to President Donald Trump’s demands that the country launch an investigation into Joe Biden’s family.

The release follows an almost 10-hour interview with former Ukrainian envoy Kurt Volker. Volker provided the text messages to the committees.

In the texts, Volker and two other diplomats discuss how to navigate Trump’s requests for the probe into his political rival.

In one exchange, Volker and Ambassador Gordon Sondland discussed a draft statement in which the Ukraine government would announce an investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential election and into a company whose board Biden’s son served on.

Trump’s pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is the subject of the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation.

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