President Trump reportedly called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask for help with finding information that could discredit former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump and the 2016 presidential election.
The phone call came a day after the controversial July 25 call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has become the center of a whistleblower complaint against Trump. According to The Times, Trump broached the topic when he called Johnson to congratulate him on assuming office as the country’s new prime minister.
Days later, Attorney General William Barr traveled to London to attend a meeting for the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. While in Britain, Barr reportedly spoke to officials about the origin of Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation and the alleged role of British intelligence agencies at the outset.
In April, Trump accused the U.K. of helping President Barack Obama spy on his 2016 presidential campaign, a claim that Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters said was “utterly ridiculous and should be ignored.”
Trump also urged the Australian prime minister to help Barr with an investigation, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, that he hopes will discredit Mueller’s 18-month probe.
As outlined in his 448-page report, Mueller said he and his team couldn’t find evidence that Trump conspired with Russia during the election, but refused to exonerate him of obstructing justice.
News of the reported call to Johnson comes amid an impeachment inquiry into the president that stems from a whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community inspector general in August. The complaint alleges that Trump improperly urged Ukraine to investigate ties political rival Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had to a Ukrainian energy company.
