Trump asked Ukraine and China to investigate Biden while standing on the White House lawn

Leah Millis/Reuters

President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Florida from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, October 3, 2019.

• President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Ukraine and China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
• "China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine," Trump said. "So, I would say that President Zelensky, if it were me, I would recommend that they start an investigation into the Bidens."
• Trump said this on live TV while standing on the White House lawn. 
• Trump already urged Ukraine to investigate the Bidens in a July 25 phone call that's at the heart of a whistleblower complaint that's sparked an impeachment inquiry. And now he's calling for China to investigate as well.
• There's no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of either Biden in Ukraine or China.
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President Donald Trump stood on the White House lawn on Thursday and called for both Ukraine and China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. 

"China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine," Trump said. "So, I would say that President Zelensky, if it were me, I would recommend that they start an investigation into the Bidens."

There's no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of either Biden in Ukraine or China, despite the president's allegations.

The president's statements on Thursday immediately prompted a wave of criticism from congressional Democrats, who are already engaged in an impeachment inquiry linked to Trump urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens in a July 25 phone call. 

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, in a tweet directed at Trump said: "Soliciting a foreign power to investigate your political opponent is an abuse of power. That's why Congress started a formal impeachment inquiry. The fact you are doing this in the open only makes it worse for you."

The July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky is at the center of a whistleblower complaint from an intelligence officer, which accuses Trump of using the power of his office to solicit a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election. Biden is currently among the top contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Amid the escalating Ukraine scandal and related impeachment inquiry, Trump has repeatedly claimed he's done nothing wrong and that the Bidens are the real problem. He's also accused House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff of treason and suggested a "Civil War like fracture" could occur if he's impeached.