Trump associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, arrested last month in the US on charges of campaign finance violations, reportedly met with Poroshenko in February 2019 and offered a meeting with the US president in exchange for an investigation into former US Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
The prospective investigation was an attempt to dig up dirt on Biden, a Democratic frontrunner for the White House, whose son was a board member at Ukrainian oil company Burisma. A probe into alleged Ukrainian interference into the 2016 US presidential election was also part of the request.
Trump’s attempts to solicit Poroshenko’s successor, Volodymyr Zelensky, to launch an investigation into the Bidens are now at the center of an impeachment inquiry into the US president.
As one of Wall Street Journal’s sources noted, Poroshenko was ready to consider the proposal because, at the time, he was running for reelection and saw a photo op with the US president as an opportunity to boost domestic ratings. The source said that Poroshenko had asked the Ukrainian embassy to make necessary preparations for an official visit between the first and second rounds of the election.
The meeting never came to fruition as there was no official invitation from the White House, according to the publication, since Poroshenko was unlikely to win the election.
House Democrats last September launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s activity after a whistleblower report highlighted a telephone conversation with Zelenskyy. The inquiry is held on grounds of abusing presidential powers, withholding military aid from Ukraine in exchange for the investigation thereby inviting a foreign power to interfere in US elections. Trump denies the charges, saying his phone call with Zelenksyy was "perfect."
