Asking Ukraine to 'play ball' and attempt to 'lock down' records: Takeaways from the whistleblower complaint

WASHINGTON – A complaint from a whistleblower released Thursday details actions by President Donald Trump regarding political rival Joe Biden that "deeply disturbed" White House officials.

The complaint goes beyond the details in the summary of Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, which was released by the White House on Wednesday.

Government officials relayed to the whistleblower that Trump "is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election," according to the complaint.

Here are takeaways from the unclassified version of the complaint:

White House officials 'deeply disturbed'

The White House officials who described Trump's conversation with Zelensky were "deeply disturbed" by the call, the complaint says. According to the whistleblower, they said there was a "discussion ongoing" with White House lawyers because of the likelihood that they witnessed Trump abusing his office for personal gain.

Efforts to 'lock down' access to call records

White House officials listened to the call, which was not restricted because of the expectation it would be routine. Afterward, senior White House officials tried to "lock down" all records of the call, the whistleblower says, showing that theyunderstood the gravity of the situation.

White House officials told the whistleblower they were "directed" by White House lawyers to remove the electronic transcript from the computer system, according to the complaint.

The transcript was loaded into a separate electronic system used for highly sensitive classified information, according to the whistleblower. The person does not know whether similar measures were taken to restrict other records of the call, such as handwritten notes taken by those who listened in.

Not the first time

White House officials allegedly told the whistleblower that the steps taken to protect the contents of the calls were not the first time that a transcript of Trump's conversation was put into a codeword-secured system solely to protect information that was politically sensitive rather than a national security concern.

Visual timeline: A diagram of events in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump

Graphics: Analyzing the Trump-Ukraine "transcript" in 3 charts

First public acknowledgment came from Ukraine

A summary of the call posted on the Ukrainian president's website said Trump expressed his conviction that Zelensky's government "will be able to quickly improve Ukraine's image and complete the investigation of corruption cases that have held back cooperation between Ukraine and the United States."

No other "corruption cases," beyond Trump's interest in investigating Biden, were discussed, according to the whistleblower.

President Donald Trump offered Ukraine the assistance of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
President Donald Trump offered Ukraine the assistance of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Not just Trump

The complaint names Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, as a central figure and says Attorney General William Barr "appears to be involved as well." A summary of Trump's call with Zelensky indicated that the president repeatedly offered to enlist Barr to help Ukraine investigate Biden.

The complaint details Giuliani's efforts to encourage Ukrainian officials to investigate the Biden family and whether Ukraine got involved in the 2016 elections.

Beginning in mid-May, the whistleblower allegedly heard from officials who were deeply concerned by what they viewed as Giuliani's circumvention of national security decision-making processes to engage with foreign officials.

More: President Trump inserts Attorney General William Barr into political firestorm in call with Ukrainian president

Ukraine urged to 'play ball'

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the InterContinental hotel during the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25.
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the InterContinental hotel during the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25.

Before the call, Ukrainian leaders were led to believe that interaction between Zelensky and Trump depended on Zelensky's willingness to "play ball" on certain issues, U.S. officials told the whistleblower, according to the complaint. Those issues were Giuliani's interest in investigating the Bidens and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko's allegation that Ukrainian officials cooperated with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 election.

In May, Trump instructed Vice President Mike Pence to cancel a trip to attend Zelensky's inauguration. Officials allegedly told the whistleblower it was "made clear" to them that Trump didn't want to meet with Zelensky until he saw how he acted in office.

Trump stopped aid to Ukraine

A week before Trump's call, the White House notified other departments that Trump wanted all U.S. security assistance to Urkaine suspended. Neither budget officials nor the national security staff knew why the directive had been made, according to the whistleblower. Budget officials said the instruction came directly from Trump, but they did not know the policy rationale behind it.

Ongoing concerns

The day after Trump’s call, Ambassador Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative for Ukraine, was dispatched to meet with Zelensky. Days later, Giuliani met in Spain with Andriy Yermak, a Zelensky aide, to discuss a possible meeting between Trump and Zelensky.

U.S. officials characterized Giuliani's trip as a "direct follow-up" to Trump's call, according to the complaint. Volker, along with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, reportedly provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to "navigate" the demands Trump made of Zelensky, the whistleblower said.

The complaint notes that Trump told reporters Aug. 9 that he would invite Zelensky to the White House.

"He's a very reasonable guy," Trump said. "He wants to see peace in Ukraine, and I think he will be coming very soon, actually."

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National security risk

The whistleblower is concerned that Trump's actions are a national security risk and undermine efforts to stop foreign interference in U.S. elections.

Not a direct witness

Though the whistleblower said the information in the complaint came from multiple sources, the whistleblower did not directly witness most of the events described. The person said the accounts of colleagues were credible because the "fact patterns" were consistent across multiple accounts. Plus, information consistent with those accounts was publicly reported.

Letter recipients

The letter is addressed to the heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees. The Trump administration had initially resisted sending it to lawmakers, saying the complaint didn't meet the criteria for transmission under the whistleblower law.

Who is the whistleblower?

Though the whistleblower's identity is not known, the complaint makes clear that the person does not work in the White House. "I was not the only non-White House official to receive a readout" of Trump's call with Zelensky, the person says in the complaint.

The person describes receiving the information in the complaint "in the course of my official duties."

The complaint: Whistleblower says Trump used 'the power of his office' to solicit foreign help to discredit Joe Biden, complaint says

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Whistleblower complaint declassified: Key takeaways