Justice Department Says Trump’s Ukraine Call Doesn’t Constitute Campaign Finance Violation

The intelligence community’s inspector general told the acting director of national intelligence that a call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s leader could have been a federal campaign finance violation. But the Justice Department determined the president did not commit a crime after prosecutors reviewed a rough transcript of the July 25 call.

A Justice Department official says the inspector general suspected that the call could have been a violation of federal law if the president was soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign government by asking the Ukraine leader to investigate a political opponent.

The official says that was based on the whistleblower’s complaint and the inspector general didn’t have access to a rough transcript of the call.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department reviewed a rough transcript of the call and determined the president did not violate campaign finance law.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal investigative deliberations.