The most senior United States diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor has told an investigative committee that President Donald Trump released security aid to Ukraine on the condition that Kiev will carry out politically motivated investigations for him. 

Mr. Taylor gave the closed-door testimony to the three Democratic-led House of Representatives committees leading an impeachment inquiry against Trump on Wednesday .

In his opening testimony which has been posted online, Taylor described a phone conversation he had with the US envoy to the European Union, Gordon Sondland who told him that Trump had made the release of the withheld aid contingent.

He said Sondland told him that the release was approved by Trump on the condition that Kiev would make public declarations that it would investigate his political rival, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden as well as an issue relating to the 2016 election.

He said: “During that phone call, Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelenskiy to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.”

The ‘alleged Ukrainian interference’ is a reference to a disproven conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 US elections and that a Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer server is in Ukraine.

US intelligence agencies and a special counsel investigation concluded that Russia had used a campaign of hacking and propaganda to undermine the chances of Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton and boost Trump’s candidacy in the build up to the polls.

The House investigation is focusing on an alleged request by Trump during a July 25 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he should investigate the Bidens. 

Trump reportedly made the request which has been described by Democrats as an improper invitation for foreign interference in an American election after withholding $391 million in security aid approved by the US Congress to help combat Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.