For Donald Trump, the matter is clear: The Ukraine affair is not an affair at all, but a huge fraud, instigated by scheming officials and envious democrats. His own party thunderously instructed the US president to counter the democratic attacks much more than before.
Trump's anger is no coincidence: the initiation of an impeachment against him is becoming more and more likely and could happen in just a few weeks. Day after day, new details in the affair come to light.
Although the White House wanted to prevent the statements of important witnesses before the congress, many diplomats readily provide information. Thus, the image of a president, who apparently tried with the help of shady ally tried to incite the Ukrainian government to launch a smear campaign against his political rival Joe Biden.
Where are the investigations in Congress? What is known about the course of the affair? What's next? The most important backgrounds at a glance.
What is known about the origin of the affair?
According to all statements and additional research by US media, the affair began in the late autumn of 2018. At that time it became apparent that former Vice President Biden could become one of the potential opponents for Trump in the presidential election of 2020. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's longtime friend and personal advocate for the US president, stepped in. He sought contact with Ukrainian officials and ex-investigators, who he hoped to find incriminating evidence against Biden and his son Hunter.
Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden are at the center of the President's attacks
The idea behind it: Hunter Biden had worked as a consultant for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. His father, as vice-president, had made sure that an investigator who wanted to go after Burisma for corruption had been fired by the government in Kiev, was the allegation. So Biden wanted to protect his son.
The problem is, that's not true. Although Hunter Biden actually worked for Burisma. But the release of the investigator demanded not only Biden and the US, but also virtually all other Western partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The charge: The investigator did not do too much against corruption, but too little. Trump's friend Giuliani did not care. He still tried to collect material against the Bidens. Again and again he tried during the spring to get in touch with Ukrainian liaison officers.
What role do the businessmen Parnas and Fruman play?
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are two eastern European business people based in the US. Especially Parnas had evidently built up a friendship with Giuliani in recent years. He is said to have helped him for months to get in contact with Ukrainian posts that provided Giuliani with background information about the Bidens.
Aram Roston / REUTERS
Trump's friend and lawyer Rudolph Giuliani often met with Lev Parnas at the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC
Parnas and Fruman were arrested by US Justice in early October when they tried to leave the US. They were obviously on their way to Vienna. Among other things, they are said to have donated more than $ 300,000 illegally to an organization that supports Trump's election. Where the money came from is unclear. Although there are several pictures of Trump with Parnas and Fruman, the president denies knowing the "gentlemen".
What does the Ukrainian oligarch Firtash have to do with the affair?
According to the US media, Lev Parnas is an employee of the Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash , who is under house arrest in Vienna and has been fighting there for five years against his extradition to the USA. US investigators in Chicago want to reach the extradition of Firtash to bring him to justice in connection with a bribery scandal. The billionaire is associated with organized crime in Russia.
What's up with Crowdstrike and the email server?
In addition to the alleged misdemeanors of the Bidens Giuliani wanted to recalculate in Ukraine a conspiracy theory that circulated for years among Trump supporters and is also loved by Trump. It goes like this: The interference of Russia in the US election 2016 was virtually invented to harm Trump.
The e-mail servers of the Democrats were in truth never hacked by Russians in 2016. To hide this, the servers had been hidden by a company called Crowdstrike with the knowledge of US Democrats in Ukraine. This conspiracy theory has long since been refuted several times. All US intelligence agencies and special investigators Robert Mueller have officially stated that the Russians were behind the hack.
What role do US diplomats play in the affair?
Several US top diplomats have testified confidentially of the Ukrainian affair before the congress. According to the Democrats, it is clear from this that Giuliani operated shadow diplomacy in Ukraine, at the behest of the president. Among other things, he is said to have operated the recall of US ambassador to Kiev, Maria Yovanovitch , because she did not want to participate in the game.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Former US ambassador Maria Yovanovitch fell out of favor with Donald Trump and his friends
The EU Ambassador, Gordon Sondland , also plays an important role . Trump is said to have commissioned him to assist Giuliani in the Ukraine works. He is also said to have pushed for the resumption of investigations into crowdstrike and / or Biden.
Security advisor John Bolton , who was later fired by Trump, said he was outraged, according to White House Russia expert Fiona Hill . Bolton had instructed them to warn the judiciary in the White House. At the same time he should have compared Giuliani's work against the Bidens with a "drug deal". Some US diplomats exchanged short messages in the affair on their cell phones, discussing the matter. These messages are now also evidence.
How did the Ukraine call come about, which everyone is talking about now?
On the morning of July 25, Trump telephoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj. The conversation - the central point of an impeachment for the Democrats - lasted 30 minutes. Trump coaxed Selenskyj, they talked about US arms purchases. Trump then said, "But I want you to do us a favor." Then he asked Selenskyj, together with Giuliani and US Attorney William Barr - who was also entrusted with the matter - the Bidens to "check". He also suggested that Selenskyj investigate the Crowdstrike story.
What role did US military aid play in Ukraine?
The US Congress had granted nearly $ 400 million in military aid to Ukraine. Trump blocked the funds, however - after US searches, he did so a week before the phone call. The White House cited the lack of fighting corruption in Ukraine as a reason, but the Democrats suspect that they wanted to pressure Kiev to join the plan against Biden. The relief funds were released on 11 September.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
The new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj was urged by Donald Trump to be investigated against the Biden family
What happened after the phone call?
According to the New York Times, dozens of advisers were heard, including Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo. White House staff did not produce an audio version, just a written protocol that the White House later published. The five-page memo summarizes the phone call, but contains mysterious omissions. There is a suspicion that the conversation was actually more extensive.
Trump's pressure on Selenskyj sparked internal panic, according to US reports internally: The content of the phone call was "crazy" been quoted by the "New York Times" an insider. A White House lawyer promptly ordered the protocol to be stored on a highly secure top-secret server - a kind of electronic secret of state secrets.
Who are the whistleblowers?
Several "informants" turned to US media reports, therefore, to a CIA official. He wrote a whistleblower complaint. Inspector General Michael Atkinson disclosed the report as credible and urgent to acting intelligence chief Joseph Maguire . On September 18, the Washington Post reported on the whistleblower report, and the Congress later published it in the text. Since then, it has become known that there should be at least one other whistleblower. All are anonymous so far.
How did the Impeachment Preliminary Survey come about?
The Democrats surrounding Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, then launched a preliminary investigation into impeachment. The suspicion: Trump had abused his power by pushing for election campaign assistance from abroad. The preliminary investigation empowers MEPs to hold summons and demand evidence. Since the end of September, the congress has been listening for democratic initiative behind closed doors witnesses.
Carlos Jasso / REUTERS
The leader of the Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, wants to clear up the Ukrainian affair before a possible impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump begins
What does the affair mean for the Democrats?
For the Democrats, this is a risky move. With moderate change voters an impeachment - a rare means to advance a president prematurely out of office - is controversial. Many Democrats in "swing" states with many bill voters are politically vulnerable. So far, a majority of Americans opposed Trump's impeachment. But the Ukrainian economy is slowly shifting the weight in favor of the Democrats in some polls.
What does the affair mean for the Republicans?
The Republicans are also in the quandary by the debate. Some, according to US reports, believe at least some of the allegations privately. In public, they defend Trump, albeit reluctantly and most of all, by keeping silent because they, too, do not want to have problems in their constituencies. At the base of the party, Trump continues to be popular. Only few Republicans openly criticized Trump, especially Senator and ex-presidential candidate Mitt Romey . He is therefore hostile to many Trump fans and Trump himself.
What happens next?
As a next step, the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives can recommend a formal trial against Trump. That would be the vote of the whole plenary. A simple majority is enough to sue Trump. This would be followed by formal impeachment. It resembles a lawsuit: After the indictment by the House of Representatives, a public "hearing" takes place in the Senate.
To impeach a two-thirds majority is then necessary. So the Democrats would have to get 20 out of 53 Senate Republicans on their side. The Democrats wanted an impeachment, so it comes to it, already begin at the end of November in order to complete the procedure by the end of the year. Most recently, however, the New York Times reported that it was planning a slower process to convince the public.
How does it end?
Andrew Harnik / AP
Donald Trump wants to continue fighting against the Democrats
A verdict is unlikely given the majority in the Senate at present. For the Democrats, the failure of the impeachment could have disastrous consequences in the November 2020 presidential election. Trump would triumph, he would get tailwind. Should the Senate vote for impeachment, Trump may refuse to resign.
"I have the support of the police, the support of the military," Trump told the right-wing website "Breitbart" back in March. They would, as necessary, become "hard" - and that could be "very evil, very evil".