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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" George Papadopoulos stated on April 12, 2021 in a Facebook post: Says Joe Biden is “withholding $150 million in aid from Ukraine” to “pressure Ukraine to drop all criminal investigations into him and his son, Hunter.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Federal Budget * Foreign Policy * Facebook Fact-checks * George Papadopoulos ![\\"U.S.](\\" U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, center, son Hunter Biden, left, and his sister Valerie Biden Owens, right, at a ceremony in Sojevo, Kosovo, Aug. 17, 2016.(AP) ![\\"Tom](\\" By Tom Kertscher April 15, 2021 # No evidence that Joe Biden is withholding aid to Ukraine to help his son Hunter #### If Your Time is short * The Defense Department has given Ukraine $125 million of $275 million in military aid, but federal law requires Ukraine to enact defense reforms in order to receive the other $150 million. * There is no evidence that Ukraine is investigating Joe Biden or his son Hunter. See the sources for this fact-check A Donald Trump ally who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the investigation of whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election has accused President Joe Biden of withholding aid from Ukraine as a way of helping himself and his son Hunter Biden. The claim was made by George Papadopoulos, an adviser in Trump’s 2016 campaign who served 12 days in prison for lying about his attempts to allegedly connect other campaign staff with officials representing Russia. He was pardoned by Trump near the end of Trump’s term as president. In an April 12 tweet, widely shared on Facebook, Papadopoulos stated: \"Biden is now withholding $150 million in aid from Ukraine as tensions with Russia grow. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago. He wants to pressure Ukraine to drop all criminal investigations into him and his son, Hunter. Where’s the media on this extortion attempt?\" The Facebook post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) There is no evidence Ukraine is conducting criminal investigations of the president or his son. Federal law puts restriction on aid Congress approved and President Trump signed a bill appropriating $275 million for what is known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The secretary of defense can use the money to provide assistance, such as training and intelligence support, as well as weapons to Ukraine. In March, the Defense Department announced it was releasing $125 million of the aid in training, equipment and advisory efforts as part of the U.S. commitment to provide \"defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression.\" The remaining $150 million will be provided when the Defense Department \"certifies that Ukraine has made sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act,\" the announcement said. \"The Department encourages Ukraine to continue to enact reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, promote increased transparency and accountability in defense industry and procurement, and modernize its defense sector in other key areas in line with NATO principles and standards.\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on September 2, 2024 in a Threads post Photo shows Vice President Kamala Harris “in the 90s.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 4, 2024 Previous legislation also required that some assistance be withheld to Ukraine pending completion of certain reforms, said Steven Pifer, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution and a retired foreign service officer. Lincoln Mitchell, a research scholar in war and peace studies at Columbia University said that \"in general, it is not all that unusual to withhold money for specific reasons that are required by U.S. law or policy. That is what Biden is doing.\" No evidence Ukraine is investigating Bidens Last July, we rated False a claim that Joe Biden was formally listed as a criminal suspect in a Ukraine case involving his son. A judge in Ukraine ordered that a criminal case file be opened regarding Biden’s efforts as vice president to get Ukraine’s top prosecutor removed from office. But the bar is low in Ukraine for opening a criminal case file; in this case, it was requested by a member of parliament. And the opening of the file does not mean that a criminal investigation was launched with probable cause, or that Biden is a suspect. In November, Ukrainian authorities said they closed a criminal probe of Joe Biden over allegations that he improperly forced the ouster of the country’s prosecutor general in 2016. Hunter Biden held a paid directorship with a Ukrainian natural gas company called Burisma Holdings, beginning in 2014. It drew attention because Burisma was owned by Mykola Zlochevsky, a minister under Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych. Pifer and Mitchell said they have seen no evidence that Ukraine is conducting a criminal investigation of the Bidens. We tried to reach out to Papadopoulous through his book publisher and his LinkedIn account, but did not get a reply. The claim has echoes of some of the same issues raised in Trump’s first impeachment in November 2019. The House impeached Trump, and the Senate later acquitted him, on charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress. A whistleblower’s complaint had sounded alarms about Trump’s efforts to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into Joe Biden before the 2020 election. The articles of impeachment charged that Trump held up security assistance and a White House meeting to put pressure on Ukraine, then obstructed Congress to cover it up. Our ruling Trump ally George Papadopoulos claimed Joe Biden is \"withholding $150 million in aid from Ukraine\" to \"pressure Ukraine to drop all criminal investigations into him and his son, Hunter.\" There is no evidence of any such investigations. The Biden administration released $125 million in military aid to Ukraine but, following federal law, is withholding $150 million until Ukraine enacts military reforms. We rate the claim False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Facebook post, April 12, 2021 Email, Steven Pifer, foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution and a retired foreign service officer, April 14, 2021 Email, Lincoln Mitchell, research scholar in war and peace studies at Columbia University, April 14, 2021 Associated Press, \"Biden administration announces $125M military aid package for Ukraine,\" March 2, 2021 Defense Department, news release, March 1, 2021 House Appropriations Committee, news release, July 7, 2020 Congress.gov, \"H.R.133 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,\" became law Dec. 27, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Tom Kertscher slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: The World Health Organization said there is \"a possible causal relationship\" between COVID-19 vaccines and multiple sclerosis. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 9, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video shows military planes over Nashville \"dispersing materials into the atmosphere\" for geoengineering. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 23, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 20, 2023 in a Facebook post: “Official statement — Putin assassinated in the Kremlin!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 22, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 8, 2023 in a Facebook post: \"The federal government has just declared a major food shortage emergency\" in six states. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 16, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Steve Kirsch stated on August 8, 2023 in a blog post: COVID-19 vaccines have killed 676,000 Americans. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 14, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 6, 2023 in a viral image: California passed a law “reducing penalties for oral, anal sex with willing children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 9, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on June 22, 2023 in a post: A new law allows people to permanently erase unpaid debt older than two years from their credit records. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 28, 2023 in a video: “Skin cancer is a relatively new phenomenon in the last 60 years or so.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on July 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Says Bill Gates said, “We’re taking things that are genetically modified organisms, and we’re injecting them into little kids’ arms” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 31, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ### No evidence that Joe Biden is withholding aid to Ukraine to help his son Hunter * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 30, 2024 in a Meta ad: U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “believes he should make that decision” about whether to end pregnancies. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 26, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Kamala involved in P-Diddy’s rapes and assaults.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 10, 2024 in the ABC News presidential debate: “Donald Trump said he was going to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. He never did. We did.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Jacob Gardenswartz • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 28, 2024 in an X post: Video shows “the bunker-busting bombs that ended the lives of (Hassan) Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s leadership.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 29, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 27, 2024 in a video: Shows video of damage from Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 28, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on September 22, 2024 in una publicación enTikTok: En el sur de Filadelfia, la campaña de Kamala Harris “está pagando a la gente $700 por semana para viajar y asistir a todos sus eventos”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in an Instagram post: Hurricane Helene was the product of intentional weather modification. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a post: Video shows footage of Hurricane Helene ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No on 3 stated on September 7, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s Amendment 3 is “the monopoly amendment.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 27, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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Says Joe Biden is withholding 150 million in aid from Ukraine to pressure Ukraine to drop all criminal investigations into him and his son Hunter