US President Donald Trump said that Democrats used the impeachment proceedings against him to cover up corruption scandals related to Ukraine. He made the comment to reporters after being asked whether he believed that Hunter Biden had undermined anti-corruption efforts in the country and whether Democrats had tried to divert attention from the case through the impeachment.
“The documents speak for themselves“, Trump said. He described the Joe Biden administration as “very corrupt” and said that Hunter Biden, his father and those around them had done “very bad things“ related to Ukraine. These claims are the president's political assessment, not independently established fact.
The Starlink and Starshield controversy
Trump denied that his administration had ordered the Ukrainian military to restrict access to satellite communications. “It wasn't me and I don't think it was Elon“, he said, referring to Elon Musk and the company SpaceX.
The president added that his understanding of the system was operating as usual and that he was not sure whether access was ever interrupted. In a published transcript of a conversation with reporters, Trump was asked specifically about Starlink and Starshield, and he replied that he did not know who gave such an order.
The two systems are not identical. Ukraine uses Starlink for communications, logistics and control of reconnaissance and defense drones. Starshield is a separate system controlled by the US government and designed for military tasks. According to Axios and Reuters, restrictions have previously been imposed that affected Ukrainian capabilities, but the role of the White House remains a matter of dispute.
A Ukrainian official, quoted by Axios, said that officials in Kiev received information from SpaceX about White House involvement in the decision. Trump rejected this version. No independent evidence has been announced that would definitively confirm who ordered the restrictions.
Desire for a nuclear deal
In the same conversation, Trump said that he wants the United States, Russia and China to reach an agreement to limit nuclear weapons. He said Washington is talking to Moscow and Beijing about nuclear disarmament but does not expect a deal to be reached this year.
“I want to reach an agreement with them. It doesn't have to happen this year,“ the president said. He indicated that Russia and China are not showing sufficient interest in such a deal, without announcing a specific timetable or parameters for future negotiations.
Sources: axios.com, reuters.com, alaskanews.com