Trump's personal lawyer says he can't say '100 per cent' that president did not withhold aid to Ukraine to force Biden investigation

Mr Trump reportedly attempted to force Ukrainian leaders to re-open corruption cases including one connected to Joe Biden's son

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani says that he cannot say with “100 per cent” certainty that the president did not threaten to cut off aid to Ukraine over calls for an investigation into largely discredited allegations against former vice president Joe Biden and his son.

Mr Giuliani, during an interview on the Fox Business Network on Monday morning, first responded to the line of questioning by saying that reports indicating Mr Trump had used the aid to pressure Ukrainian officials “was a false story” – but then indicated he is not completely sure.

“Well, I can’t tell you if it’s 100 per cent,” Mr Giuliani said when pressed.

The questions come after reports have indicated that the president attempted to force his Ukrainian counterpart to reopen a corruption case that involves Mr Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Soon after that conversation, the White House put $250 million in military aid to Ukraine on hold.

The request was reportedly made during a call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in July, and reports at that time indicated the US president had pushed for a re-opening of some corruption cases. But, the case involving Mr Biden’s son was not disclosed in official readouts.

Since then, however, the call has become the subject of an explosive whistle-blower complaint, the details of which are being sought by Democrats in Congress who view the material as potentially important to opening an impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump.

Just days after the phone call in July, Mr Giuliani reportedly met with an aide to the Ukrainian president in Madrid, and detailed two specific cases they believed should be pursued. Those included a probe into a Ukrainian gas tycoon who had Hunter Biden on his company’s board.

The other was related to allegations that Democrats had colluded with Ukraine to release damaging information about Mr Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, during the 2016 election.

Mr Giuliani has said he has been lobbying the Ukrainian government for action for months now, in an action that national security experts have said is inappropriate and potentially opens up the US president and the 2020 election to outside influence.