Volker testifies Giuliani hijacked Ukraine diplomacy, insisting on public probes into Bidens, 2016 [View all]

[riversedge]

Source: daily kos





Tuesday November 05, 2019 · 3:10 PM CST


In newly released testimony, former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker told congressional investigators that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, had upended U.S. diplomacy with Ukraine by advancing debunked conspiracy theories about the Bidens and the 2016 elections. "The negative narrative about Ukraine which Mr. Giuliani was furthering was the problem," Volker said during testimony last month, explaining anemic diplomatic efforts to provide robust support for the new Ukrainian administration. "It was, in my view, it was impeding our ability to build the relationship the way we should be doing, in my—as I understood it."

The gulf between what Volker “understood” to be in U.S. interests and what Giuliani was advancing is evident throughout the testimony. Based on excerpts of the 360-page transcript released by House Democrats, Volker relayed that Ukrainian officials came to see Giuliani as the key conduit to Trump and that Volker tried, to no avail, to disabuse Giuliani of the conspiracy theories he was spreading about the Bidens and Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 elections. At one point, Giuliani even insisted on explicit mentions of the two items in a statement Ukraine was preparing to publicly commit to opening investigations of corruption in order to please Trump.

Below are some highlights from the excerpts.

Ukrainian officials clearly understood that Giuliani was the chief conduit to Trump

"The Ukrainians asked to be connected to him in order to try to get across their message of being different from the past," Volker said of the new Ukrainian administration's efforts. They believed that "information flow would reach the president" if they went through Giuliani, Volker added.

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Read more: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/5/1897413/-Volker-testifies-Giuliani-hijacked-Ukraine-diplomacy-insisting-on-public-probes-into-Bidens-2016

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Former US Special Representative to Ukraine Kurt Volker arrives for a deposition with the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 3, 2019. - Volker is expected to give the committee a deposition on their impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker