Perry denies pressing Ukraine on energy company, says he's not resigning [View all]
Source: Politico
Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Monday denied that he pressed the Ukrainian government to put two U.S. businessmen on the board of the state energy company or that he was planning to leave the Trump administration.
Perry's comments at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, come amid growing scrutiny into the Trump administration's diplomacy in Ukraine, which has triggered a House impeachment inquiry into whether the president withheld aid to the country in exchange for a pledge from President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son.
Perry acknowledged making the recommendations to Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas company Naftogaz, but said he did so only at the request of that country’s government. He also said it was "true" that he had pressed President Donald Trump to make the July call to Zelensky that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry.
“Absolutely, I asked the president multiple times, ‘Mr. President, we think it is in the United States' and in Ukraine’s best interest that you and the president of Ukraine have conversations, that you discuss the options that are there,’” he said. Axios reported on Saturday that Trump told House Republicans he made the call at Perry's request.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/07/rick-perry-denies-pressing-ukraine-037716
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