128-556: [REDACTED] The Trump–Ukraine scandal was a political scandal that arose primarily from the discovery of U.S. President Donald Trump 's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden and thus potentially damage Biden's campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination . Trump enlisted surrogates in and outside his administration , including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr , to pressure Ukraine and other governments to cooperate in supporting and legitimizing
256-722: A career U.S. diplomat whom the Trump administration had abruptly recalled two months earlier. Trump told Zelenskyy that Yovanovitch was "going to go through some things". Political scandal In politics , a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians , government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt , unethical or sexual practices. Politicians and officials who are embroiled in scandals are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares. Scandal sells, and broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and
384-590: A "classic disinformation campaign ." Lutsenko subsequently recanted his claims of a "do-not-prosecute" list. In testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary for the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, described the narratives about Ukraine told by Solomon and right-wing Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham as "entirely made up in full cloth". Their information
512-552: A 40-minute phone call with U.S. diplomat Kurt Volker and Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy. On this call, Giuliani said that if Zelenskyy were to publicly announce an investigation into Biden, it would help Zelenskyy have "a much better relationship" with Trump. Responding to a motion by the liberal watchdog group American Oversight, on October 23 a federal judge gave the State Department 30 days to release Ukraine-related records, including communications between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Rudy Giuliani. On November 22,
640-524: A July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy (the contents of which became public on September 25, 2019), Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden and disparaged Yovanovitch to his foreign counterpart, calling her "bad news". Documents to the House Intelligence Committee provided by Lev Parnas outlined text exchanges in which Lutsenko pushed for
768-596: A November 2019 interview that he believed he "needed Yovanovitch out of the way" because she was going to make his investigations difficult. On April 24, 2019, after complaints from Giuliani and other Trump allies that Yovanovitch was undermining and obstructing Trump's efforts to persuade Ukraine to investigate former vice president and 2020 presidential election candidate Joe Biden, Trump ordered Yovanovitch's recall. She returned to Washington, D.C. , on April 25, with her recall becoming public knowledge on May 7, and her mission as ambassador being terminated on May 20, 2019. In
896-456: A Ukraine expert for the NSC. Days before Trump's July 25 call with Zelenskyy, Giuliani spoke on the phone with Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak about a Biden investigation, as well as a prospective White House meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump that was sought by Ukrainian officials. According to Zelenskyy's advisor Serhiy Leshchenko , Trump was willing to have a phone conversation with Zelenskyy only on
1024-647: A Ukrainian official showed the envoy understood from the White House that a Zelenskyy visit with Trump was contingent upon Ukraine's investigating a conspiracy theory about alleged Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election . Records of the Trump–Zelenskyy call were moved from the system where presidential call transcripts are typically stored to a system reserved for the government's most sensitive secrets. The Trump administration had also similarly restricted access to records of Trump's conversations with
1152-439: A White House visit only if he promised to carry out the requested investigations. On July 25, just before Trump's phone call, Volker texted to Yermak: "heard from White House—assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate / 'get to the bottom of what happened' in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington." On September 25, the administration released the White House's five-page, declassified memorandum of
1280-502: A clash with pro-Russian demonstrators there. Despite this, a report by the BBC said that whilst it appeared that Ukrainian troops and the mayor of Mariupol did enter the building in the early morning, Ukrainian troops had abandoned it by the afternoon. Local pro-Russian activists blamed Ukrainian nationalists for the attack upon the building but said that the DPR had regained control. A representative of
1408-533: A consulting firm in which Hunter is a partner was also retained by Burisma. In a December 2015 interview, Joe Biden said he had never discussed Hunter's work at Burisma. Joe Biden traveled to Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 21, 2014, and urged the Ukrainian government "to reduce its dependence on Russia for supplies of natural gas ". He discussed how the United States could help provide technical expertise for expanding domestic production of natural gas. Since 2012,
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#17328528636141536-512: A dozen U.S. officials". The complaint was eventually released to congressional intelligence committees on September 25, 2019, and a redacted version of the complaint was made public the next day. On October 6, 2019, attorney Mark Zaid announced the existence of a second official whistleblower, an intelligence official with firsthand knowledge who had spoken with the inspector general of the Intelligence Community but had not yet contacted
1664-535: A foreign national in connection with a U.S. election." Previously in July 2016, while Trump was still a candidate in the 2016 United States presidential election , he made a request : "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing " from 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton 's email server. In 2014, the Obama administration was trying to provide diplomatic support to
1792-572: A former USSR constituent republic, Ukraine was perceived by the leadership of Russia as part of its sphere of influence . In a 2002 paper Taras Kuzio stated "While accepting Ukrainian independence, Putin has sought to draw Ukraine into a closer relationship. This approach has been acceptable to eastern Ukrainian oligarchs , who do not harbour anti-Russian feelings". In 2011 Taras Kuzio stated The traditional Soviet policy of dividing eastern against western Ukrainians, then "bourgeois nationalists" and now "crazy Galicians," remains in place. This tactic
1920-502: A hard line against Burisma, but within a year, Lutsenko announced that all legal proceedings and pending criminal allegations against Zlochevsky had been "fully closed". In a related 2014 investigation by the United Kingdom , British authorities froze U.K. bank accounts tied to Zlochevsky; however, the investigation was later closed due to a lack of evidence. Lutsenko said in May 2019 that there
2048-540: A non-verbatim summary of the conversation released by the White House. Trump acknowledged he had told Zelenskyy "we don't want our people like Vice President Biden and his son [contributing] to the corruption already in the Ukraine." According to the whistleblower, the call was part of a wider campaign by Trump, his administration, and Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens, which may have included Trump's cancelling
2176-484: A political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both." Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov had already signed a decree which called for the Donetsk regional state administration building, occupied by separatists, to be taken "under state protection". He offered amnesty to any separatists who laid down their arms and surrendered. By 11 April Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that he had been against
2304-491: A public announcement by the new Ukrainian president...of politically-motivated investigations, including one into Joe Biden, one of Trump's domestic political opponents. In pressuring President Zelenskyy to carry out his demand, President Trump withheld a White House meeting desperately sought by the Ukrainian President, and critical U.S. military assistance to fight Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine ." In January 2020,
2432-667: A referendum on greater autonomy or joining Russia, similar to the one held in Crimea in March. Hundreds of masked men also seized weapons from the SBU building in the city. A large crowd then stormed and occupied the Donetsk RSA building , raising the Russian flag. They demanded the regional council meet by noon the next day and vote for a referendum on joining Russia. Otherwise, they vowed to take control of
2560-624: A regional administration building in Khartsyzk on 13 April, followed by a local administration building in Zhdanivka on 14 April. On 12 April, unmarked pro-Russian militants seized the Donetsk headquarters of the Interior Ministry and two police stations without resistance, while an assault on the general prosecutor's office was repelled. Following negotiations between the militants and those in
2688-512: A roadmap for ending the war in October 2019, but it remained unresolved. During 2021, Ukrainian fatalities rose sharply and Russian forces massed around Ukraine's borders . Russia recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states on 21 February 2022 and deployed troops to those territories. On 24 February, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine , subsuming the war in Donbas into it. Following
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#17328528636142816-422: A scheduled trip to Ukraine by Vice President Mike Pence , and Trump withholding $ 400 million in military aid from Ukraine. Immediately after the Trump–Zelenskyy call ended, White House national security aides discussed their deep concerns, with at least one National Security Council (NSC) official alerting White House national security lawyers. A text message between a State Department envoy to Ukraine and
2944-550: A scheduled trip to Ukraine where he had intended to urge president-elect Zelenskyy to pursue inquiries into Hunter Biden, as well as whether Democrats colluded with Ukrainians to release information about Manafort. Giuliani claimed he has sworn statements from five Ukrainians stating they were brought into the Obama White House in January 2016 and told to "go dig up dirt on Trump and Manafort", although he has not produced evidence for
3072-537: A state visit for President Zelenskyy's inauguration in May, former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry reportedly pressured President Zelenskyy to fire members of the Naftogaz supervisory board, but Perry denied this, stating in a press conference on October 7: "That was a totally dreamed-up story". On October 10, Perry was issued a subpoena by the House Intelligence Committee , the House Oversight Committee , and
3200-572: A statement to CBS News on December 4, Patel denied being part of Giuliani's Ukraine back-channel, saying he was "never a back channel to President Trump on Ukraine matters, at all, ever", and that his call with Giuliani was "personal". After Richard Grenell was named acting Director of National Intelligence in February 2020, Patel was added as a senior adviser on February 20. Following the termination of Secretary Mark Esper in November 2020, Patel became
3328-562: Is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election." Trump has denied all wrongdoing. He confirmed that he had withheld aid from Ukraine, while offering contradicting reasons for doing so. Trump first claimed it was withheld because of corruption in Ukraine, but later said it was because other nations, including those in Europe, were not contributing enough aid to Ukraine. European Union institutions provided more than twice
3456-448: Is no evidence his son was ever under investigation. Trump also presented Giuliani as a key U.S. contact for Ukraine, although Giuliani holds no official U.S. government position. Trump said three times that he would ask both Attorney General Barr and Giuliani to call Zelenskyy, and added: "So whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great." In response, Zelenskyy said his candidate for Ukraine's chief prosecutor "will look into
3584-428: Is thought that Lutsenko targeted Yovanovitch due to her anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. One week before an April 1, 2019, conference on anti-corruption, Parnas exchanged encrypted WhatsApp text messages with Robert F. Hyde that indicated the ambassador was under surveillance and that her security was at risk. Hyde claimed he had merely forwarded messages received from a Belgium citizen named Anthony de Caluwe. After
3712-686: The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Security and Defence Council launched an anti-terrorist operation "in the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine". As part of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian troops re-took the airfield in Kramatorsk after a skirmish with members of the Donbas People's Militia. According to Russian media, at least four people died as a result. After
3840-531: The Armed Forces of Ukraine ensued, marking the start of combat in the Donbas. The same day as the capture of Sloviansk, Girkin's men attacked the police station in nearby Kramatorsk , resulting in a shootout. The fighters, claiming to be members of the Donbas People's Militia , later captured the police station. They removed the police station's sign and raised the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic over
3968-890: The Donbas war , was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the Donbas region of Ukraine . The war began in April 2014 , when a commando unit headed by Russian citizen Igor Girkin seized Sloviansk in Donetsk oblast . The Ukrainian military launched an operation against them. The war continued until subsumed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In March 2014, following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity , anti-revolution and pro-Russian protests began in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts , collectively 'the Donbas'. These began as Russia invaded Crimea . Armed Russian-backed separatists seized Ukrainian government buildings and declared
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4096-420: The Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) as independent states, leading to conflict with Ukrainian forces. Russia covertly supported the separatists with troops and weaponry. It only admitted sending "military specialists", but later acknowledged the separatists as Russian combat veterans . In April 2014, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO), later renamed
4224-679: The Government Accountability Office , a non-partisan watchdog, concluded the White House broke federal law by withholding Congress-approved military aid to Ukraine. The scandal came to light when a whistleblower report revealed that President Trump had asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July 2019 to investigate Joe Biden , Trump's political opponent in the 2020 presidential election , his son Hunter Biden , and company CrowdStrike , to discuss these matters with Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr . The allegations were confirmed by
4352-537: The Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign . Lutsenko, who has been accused by Ukrainian civil society organizations of corruption, claimed that Yovanovitch, an Obama administration appointee, had interfered in Ukraine politics, had given him a "do-not-prosecute" list and was interfering in his ability to combat corruption in Ukraine. The U.S. State Department said that Lutsenko's allegations against Yovanovitch were "an outright fabrication" and indicated that they were
4480-475: The House Foreign Affairs Committee , partially concerning his interactions with Naftogaz. The Wall Street Journal reported that Perry planned to have Amos Hochstein , a former Obama administration official, replaced as a member of the board at Naftogaz with someone aligned with Republican interests. Perry denied the reports. Dmytry Firtash is a Ukrainian oligarch who is prominent in
4608-669: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also threatened to delay $ 40 billion of aid in light of corruption in Ukraine. Anders Åslund , a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council , said that "Everyone in the Western community wanted Shokin sacked ... The whole G-7 , the IMF, the EBRD [ European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ], everybody was united that Shokin must go, and
4736-680: The Minsk Protocol , in September 2014. Ceasefire breaches became rife, 29 in all, and heavy fighting resumed in January 2015, during which the separatists captured Donetsk Airport . A new ceasefire, Minsk II , was agreed on 12 February 2015. Immediately after, separatists renewed their offensive on Debaltseve and forced Ukraine's military to withdraw. Skirmishes continued but the front line did not change. Both sides fortified their position by building networks of trenches , bunkers and tunnels , resulting in static trench warfare . Stalemate led to
4864-553: The Revolution of Dignity . Immediately following the revolution, unmarked Russian troops occupied the Ukrainian territory of Crimea . After an illegal referendum , Crimea was annexed by Russia . Following the revolution, counter-revolutionary and pro-Russian protests began in parts of the Donbas. A national survey held in March–April 2014 found that 58% of respondents in the Donbas wanted autonomy within Ukraine, while 31% wanted
4992-579: The SDNY . diGenova has said he has known attorney general Bill Barr for thirty years, as they both worked in the Reagan Justice Department. The Washington Post reported on October 22 that after they began representing Firtash, Toensing and diGenova secured a rare face-to-face meeting with Barr to argue the Firtash charges should be dropped. Prior to that mid-August meeting, Barr had been briefed in detail on
5120-479: The Ukrainian prosecutor general had been investigating Burisma's owner, oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky , over allegations of money laundering , tax evasion , and corruption. In 2015, Viktor Shokin became the prosecutor general, inheriting the investigation. The Obama administration, other governments, and non-governmental organizations soon became concerned that Shokin was not adequately pursuing corruption in Ukraine,
5248-466: The "Joint Forces Operation" (JFO). By August 2014, Ukraine had re-taken most separatist-held territory and nearly regained control of the Russia–Ukraine border . In response, Russia covertly sent troops, tanks and artillery into the Donbas . The Russian incursion helped pro-Russian forces regain much of the territory they had lost. Ukraine, Russia, the DPR and LPR signed a ceasefire agreement,
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5376-634: The ' Euromaidan ' protests began in response to Yanukovych's decision to abandon a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), instead choosing closer ties to Russia. Earlier that year, Ukraine's parliament had overwhelmingly approved finalizing the agreement with the EU. Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it. The scope of the protests widened, with calls for Yanukovych's resignation. Protesters opposed what they saw as widespread government corruption and abuse of power ,
5504-572: The 2016 U.S. elections. U.S. ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland testified he worked with Giuliani at Trump's "express direction" to arrange a quid pro quo with the Ukraine government. On September 24, 2019, the House of Representatives began a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump . On October 31, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to approve guidelines for the next phase of impeachment. Trump
5632-710: The Armed Forces of Ukraine re-took the airfield, the commanding general of the unit that had retaken it, Vasyl Krutov , was surrounded by hostile protesters who demanded to know why the Ukrainian troops had fired upon local residents. Krutov was then dragged back to the airbase along with his unit. They were then blocked by the protesters, who vowed not to let the troops leave the base. Krutov later told reporters that "if they [the separatists] do not lay down their arms, they will be destroyed". Donbas People's Militia insurgents entered Sloviansk on 16 April, along with six armoured personnel carriers they claimed to have obtained from
5760-677: The Bidens in an effort to solicit Giuliani's assistance with Firtash's legal matters, as well as hiring diGenova and Toensing in July. Bloomberg News also reported that its sources told them Giuliani's high-profile publicity of the Shokin statement had greatly reduced the chances of the Justice Department dropping the charges against Firtash, as it would appear to be a political quid pro quo . Later that day, The New York Times reported that weeks earlier, before his associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were indicted, Giuliani met with officials with
5888-500: The Bidens. As of October 2019, there has been no evidence produced of any alleged wrongdoing by the Bidens. Trump, his supporters, and right-wing media have spread multiple conspiracy theories regarding Ukraine, the Bidens, the whistleblower, and the foreign interference in the 2016 election . The scope of the scandal expanded on October 9, when arrests were made by the FBI of two of Giuliani's clients involved in political and business affairs in
6016-467: The Bidens. Giuliani told CNN he met with a Firtash attorney for two hours in New York City at the time he was seeking information about the Bidens. Firtash is represented by Trump and Giuliani associates Joseph diGenova and his wife Victoria Toensing , having hired them on Lev Parnas 's recommendation. The New York Times reported in November that Giuliani had directed Parnas to approach Firtash with
6144-484: The DNC server", referring to a debunked theory that Ukrainians framed Russia for hacking into the DNC system. Trump has publicly urged Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens. The Trump administration's top diplomat to Ukraine, Bill Taylor , testified he was told aid to Ukraine and a Trump–Zelenskyy White House meeting were conditional on Zelenskyy announcing investigations into the Bidens and alleged Ukrainian interference in
6272-553: The Donbas War. He said "I'm the one who pulled the trigger of war. If our unit hadn't crossed the border, everything would have fizzled out, like in Kharkiv, like in Odesa". He explained that "nobody there wanted to fight" until his unit seized Sloviansk. After militants took over the city, Sloviansk mayor Nelya Shtepa briefly appeared at an occupied police station, and expressed support for
6400-584: The FBI?" Trump responded: "I think maybe you do both. I think you might want to listen. I don't. There's nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country—Norway—we have information on your opponent. Oh. I think I'd want to hear it." After Trump said this, the chair of the Federal Election Commission, Ellen Weintraub, reminded Americans that according to federal law: "It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from
6528-661: The House Intelligence Committee released the text messages, de Caluwe initially denied any involvement, but then reversed himself, saying that he had in fact sent the messages to Hyde but that the messages were a joke and "just a part of a ridiculous banter." An audio tape from April 2018, recorded at a private dinner between Trump and top donors and made public by ABC News in January 2020, captures Trump demanding Yovanovitch's removal, saying: "Get rid of her! Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. Okay? Do it." The recording appeared to corroborate Parnas's account that he had told Trump that night that Yovanovitch
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#17328528636146656-602: The House Intelligence Committee's report included phone records, acquired via subpoenas to AT&T and/or Verizon Wireless, including a 25-minute phone call between Patel and Giuliani on May 10, 2019. The call occurred after Giuliani and Patel attempted to call each other for several hours, and less than an hour after a call between Giuliani and Kurt Volker. Five minutes after the 25-minute call between Giuliani and Patel, an unidentified "-1" phone number called Giuliani for over 17 minutes, after which Giuliani called his now-indicted associate Lev Parnas for approximately 12 minutes. In
6784-451: The July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskyy. In the call, Trump pressed for an investigation into the Bidens and CrowdStrike , saying: "I would like to have the [U.S.] attorney general call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it." Trump falsely told Zelenskyy "Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution" of his son, Hunter; Biden did not stop any prosecution, did not brag about doing so, and there
6912-494: The Republic, Irina Voropoyeva , said, "We, the Donetsk People's Republic, still control the building. There was an attempted provocation but now it's over." On the same day, Ukrainian government officials said that the Armed Forces had intended to retake the city of Sloviansk, but that an increased threat of "Russian invasion" halted these operations. Russian forces had mobilised within 10 kilometres ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi) of
7040-475: The State Department released internal emails and documents that bolstered Gordon Sondland's congressional testimony that Pompeo participated in Giuliani's activities relating to Ukraine. The documents also showed the State Department had deliberately deceived Congress about the rationale for Yovanovitch's removal as ambassador . During his call with Zelenskyy, Trump said, "I will ask [Giuliani] to call you along with
7168-455: The U.S. and Ukraine, as well as news two days later that Giuliani himself was under federal investigation. Before this scandal came to light, U.S. president Donald Trump indicated he would accept foreign intelligence on his political rivals. In June 2019, Trump was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos , who asked: "If foreigners, if Russia, if China, if someone else offers you information on an opponent, should they accept it or should they call
7296-475: The Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade , which had surrendered in the city of Kramatorsk . Reports say members of the brigade were disarmed after the vehicles were blocked from passing by angry locals. In another incident, several hundred residents of the village of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded another column of 14 Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Following negotiations, the troops were allowed to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender
7424-430: The Ukrainian administration to investigate the Bidens, a group of businessmen and Republican donors used their ties to Trump and Giuliani to try to replace the leadership of Ukrainian state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz . The group sought to have Naftogaz contracts granted to businesses owned by allies of Trump, but this effort hit a setback when Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the 2019 Ukrainian Presidential Election . During
7552-455: The Ukrainian border. The officials said that seven troops were killed during the day's operations. President Turchynov issued a statement later in the day, and said that the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" would be resumed, citing the ongoing hostage crisis in Sloviansk as a reason. By 6 May, 14 Ukrainian troops had died and 66 had been injured in the fighting. Insurgents took over the offices of
7680-467: The aid after becoming aware of a whistleblower complaint, before the complaint was known by Congress or the public. The scandal reached public attention in mid-September 2019 due to a whistleblower complaint made in August. The complaint raised concerns about Trump using powers to solicit foreign electoral intervention in the 2020 U.S. presidential election . The White House corroborated allegations raised by
7808-510: The amount of aid to Ukraine than did the United States during 2016-17, and Trump's budget proposal sought to cut billions of dollars from U.S. initiatives to fight corruption and encourage reform in Ukraine and elsewhere. Trump has repeatedly attacked the whistleblower and sought information about the whistleblower. In October 2019, after mentioning that the U.S. has "tremendous power" in the trade war with China "if they don't do what we want", Trump publicly urged Ukraine and China to investigate
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#17328528636147936-399: The attorney general. Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great." In November, Trump denied directing Giuliani to go to Ukraine, but days after his impeachment acquittal acknowledged that he had. Giuliani had asserted in September that "everything I did was to defend my client." Since March 2019, while Giuliani was pressing
8064-451: The bogus Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics. Trump blocked payment of a congressionally-mandated $ 400 million military aid package, in an attempt to obtain quid pro quo cooperation from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy . Contacts were established between the White House and government of Ukraine , culminating in a call between Trump and Zelenskyy on July 25, 2019. Trump released
8192-485: The building after a tense standoff with the police. Some members of the local police unit had defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining officers were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building. The local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak , was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body
8320-662: The building, the chief of the office resigned from his post. According to anonymous witnesses, some militants wore uniforms of the Berkut special police force, which had been dissolved by the new government following the February revolution. The militants also took over the municipal administration building unopposed on 16 April. Demonstrators hoisted the DPR flag over the city administration buildings in Krasnoarmiisk and Novoazovsk on 16 April. The local administration building in Siversk
8448-413: The building. They then issued an ultimatum that stated that if the city's mayor and administration did not swear allegiance to the Republic by the following Monday, they would remove them from office. Concurrently, a crowd of demonstrators surrounded the city administration building, captured it, and raised the Donetsk People's Republic flag over it. A representative of the Republic addressed locals outside
8576-421: The call with Zelenskyy, and that he had said: "We don't want our people like Vice President Biden and his son creating [ sic ] to the corruption already in the Ukraine. [ sic ]" As of October 2019, there has been no evidence produced of any of the alleged wrongdoing by the Bidens. The Wall Street Journal reported on September 30 that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also listened in on
8704-492: The call. Two days later, The Washington Post reported that Vice President Mike Pence's national security advisor Keith Kellogg had listened in on the call as well, and that "Pence should have had access to the transcript within hours." Others on the line included Tim Morrison , the National Security Council's senior director for Europe and Russia; Robert Blair , an aide to Mick Mulvaney ; and Alexander Vindman ,
8832-402: The chief of staff for acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller . As early as April 2018, Rudy Giuliani and his associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman had apparently decided to assist President Trump's re-election efforts and they identified the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as being a difficulty. Yovanovitch had spent her thirty-year career working as a diplomat and
8960-501: The chorus of those seeking Mr. Shokin's removal" and that Joe Biden "spoke publicly about this before and during his December visit to Kyiv." During the same hearing, Nuland stated, "we have pegged our next $ 1 billion loan guarantee, first and foremost, to having a rebooting of the reform coalition so that we know who we are working with, but secondarily, to ensuring that the prosecutor general's office gets cleaned up." Meanwhile, protests within Ukraine were calling for Shokin's removal, and
9088-585: The city administration building and raised the DPR flag over it. The city administration buildings in Yenakiieve and Druzhkivka were also captured. Police repelled an attack by pro-Russian militants upon an office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Krasnyi Lyman on 12 April, but the building was later captured by the separatists after a skirmish. Insurgents affiliated with the Donbas People's Militia occupied
9216-740: The city was still not under Ukrainian government control. On 22 April pro-Russian demonstrators in Kostiantynivka burned down the offices of a newspaper that had been critical of the DPR. On 21 April, demonstrators gathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the SBU building in Luhansk and called for a 'people's government', demanding either federalization or joining Russia. At this assembly, they elected Valery Bolotov as "People's Governor". Two referendums were announced, one to be held on 11 May to determine whether Luhansk region should seek greater autonomy, and another scheduled for 18 May to determine whether
9344-605: The claim. Giuliani asserted he cancelled the trip because he had been "set up" by Ukrainians who objected to his efforts, and blamed Democrats for trying to "spin" the trip. Giuliani met with Ukrainian officials to press for an investigation in June 2019 and August 2019. As early as May 2019, as State Department officials planned to meet with Zelenskyy, Trump told them to circumvent official channels for planning this meeting and instead to work with Giuliani. In July 2019, days before Trump made his phone call to Zelenskyy, Giuliani participated in
9472-594: The congressional committees involved in the investigation. The whistleblower's complaint prompted a referral to the Department of Justice Criminal Division . On September 25, a Department of Justice spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec, announced that the division had "concluded the matter" and determined that the call did not constitute a campaign finance violation. On October 3, after Trump publicly called for China and Ukraine to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, Federal Election Commission (FEC) chair Ellen Weintraub reiterated that "it
9600-735: The country's most distinguished ambassadors," writing that this had demoralized the U.S. diplomatic corps and undermined U.S. foreign policy. The American Foreign Service Association and American Academy of Diplomacy , representing members of the U.S. diplomatic corps, expressed alarm at Trump's disparagement of Yovanovitch in his call with Zelenskyy. Michael McKinley , a career foreign service officer who served as ambassador to four countries and had been chief adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , resigned in October 2019 in protest of Trump's attacks against Yovanovitch and "the State Department's unwillingness to protect career diplomats from politically motivated pressure." Yovanovitch's ouster became one of
9728-425: The country's natural gas industry, and to reduce the country's reliance on imports of Russian natural gas. Firtash denied involvement in collecting or financing damaging information on the Bidens. Kashyap Patel was a national security aide for the House Intelligence Committee , under Congressman Nunes (R, CA.) during the first years of the Trump administration. He was the key author of a controversial memo which
9856-492: The criminal and fraud divisions of the Justice Department regarding what Giuliani characterized as a "very, very sensitive" foreign bribery case involving a client of his. Barr also attended the meeting. The Times did not name whom the case involved, but shortly after publication of the story Giuliani told a reporter it was not Firtash. Two days later, the Justice Department stated its officials would not have met with Giuliani had they known his associates were under investigation by
9984-580: The electronic media have covered it in depth. The Muckraker movement in American journalism was a component of the Progressive Era in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Journalists have built their careers on exposure of corruption and political scandal, often acting on behalf of the opposition party. The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side. Journalists have to frame
10112-500: The influence of oligarchs , police brutality , and human rights violations . The protests culminated in February 2014 with clashes in Kyiv between protesters and Berkut special riot police, in which 108 protesters were killed . Yanukovych and the opposition signed an agreement on 21 February, but he secretly fled the city that evening. The following day, parliament voted to remove him from office . This series of events became known as
10240-454: The initial whistleblower complaint within the CIA that had been forwarded to the Justice Department, as well as on Giuliani's activities in Ukraine. Barr declined to intervene in the Firtash case. Firtash made his fortune brokering Ukrainian imports of natural gas from the Russian firm Gazprom . As vice president, Joe Biden had urged the Ukrainian government to eliminate middlemen such as Firtash from
10368-538: The insurgents, but were forced to retreat after many men were wounded by insurgent fire. Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov said that the insurgents were led by a man with "an extensive beard". Some 30 militants seized the police headquarters in Konstantinovka on 28 April. The Internal Affairs Minister, Arsen Avakov , said on 24 April that Ukrainian troops had captured the city administration in Mariupol, after
10496-483: The invasion, Russia held illegitimate referendums on the Ukrainian territory it occupied, annexing the LPR and DPR as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, despite not controlling all of the area of any of these territories nor defining borders for them. Russia now thus views the LPR and DPR as a Republic of Russia , but the international community still overwhelmingly views them as About 14,000 people were killed in
10624-772: The issues explored in the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry against Trump ; her recall was termed "a political hit job" by Democratic members of Congress. Trump subsequently said she was "no angel" and falsely claimed that Yovanovitch had refused to hang his portrait. On September 20, 2019, The Washington Post reported that Trump had in a July 25 phone conversation repeatedly pressed Ukrainian president Zelenskyy to investigate matters relating to Hunter Biden . The New York Times reported that Trump told Zelenskyy to speak to Giuliani, and according to The Wall Street Journal , he urged Zelenskyy "about eight times" to work with Giuliani and investigate Biden's son. On September 22, Trump acknowledged he had discussed Joe Biden during
10752-404: The leaders of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. It was subsequently revealed that this placement was made for political rather than for national security reasons. The first whistleblower complaint was filed on August 12, 2019, reportedly by a CIA officer detailed to the White House. It was based both on "direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct" and on the accounts of more than "half
10880-596: The magazines from their assault rifles. These incidents led President Turchynov to say he would disband the 25th Airborne Brigade , although this was later cancelled. Three members of the Donbas People's Militia were killed, 11 wounded, and 63 were arrested after they attempted and failed to storm a National Guard base in Mariupol . On 20 April, separatists in Yenakiieve left the city administration building there, which they had occupied since 13 April. Despite this, by 27 May
11008-603: The militants. Others gathered outside the building and similarly voiced their support for the militants. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to Kyiv ". Shtepa was later detained by the insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev . The pro-Russian militants killed a member of Solviansk town council, Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak , as well as four other Ukrainians, including 25-year-old Yuri Dyakovsky and an unnamed 19-year-old man. Girkin took responsibility for these summary executions in 2020, even though in
11136-479: The natural gas sector. In 2017, the Justice Department characterized him as being an "upper echelon (associate) of Russian organized crime". Living in Vienna, Austria, for five years he has been fighting extradition to the U.S. on bribery and racketeering charges, and has been seeking to have the charges dropped. Firtash's attorneys obtained a September statement from Viktor Shokin, the former Ukrainian prosecutor general who
11264-688: The newly elected president of Ukraine, to investigate Burisma, as well as to check if there were any irregularities in the Ukrainian investigation of Paul Manafort . On May 7, Zelenskyy and a group of his advisors had a three-hour meeting to discuss how to respond to Trump and Giuliani's pressure and how to avoid becoming involved in domestic American politics. Giuliani said the investigations he sought would be beneficial to President Trump, his client, and that his efforts had Trump's full support. Giuliani's efforts began as an attempt to provide cover for Trump to pardon Manafort, who had been convicted of eight felony counts in August 2018. On May 10, Giuliani canceled
11392-496: The occupied police station, but was received negatively and booed. Pro-Russian militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in Horlivka on 12 April, but were halted. Ukrainska Pravda reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure was to gain access to a weapons cache. They said that they would use force if needed to defend the building from "criminals and terrorists". By 14 April militants had captured
11520-461: The ouster of Yovanovitch and in return offered to provide damaging information on Joe Biden. In Russian-language messages, Lutsenko told Parnas that Yovanovitch—referred to as "madam"—should be ousted before he would make helpful public statements; for example, in a March 22, 2019 WhatsApp message to Parnas, Lutsenko wrote, "It's just that if you don't make a decision about Madam—you are calling into question all my declarations. Including about B." It
11648-405: The post- 2014 Ukrainian revolution Yatsenyuk government in Ukraine, and then-vice president Joe Biden was "at the forefront" of those efforts. Biden's son Hunter Biden joined the board of directors of Burisma Holdings , a Ukrainian energy company, on April 18, 2014. Hunter, then an attorney with Boies Schiller Flexner , was hired to help Burisma with corporate governance best practices , and
11776-417: The preceding years he and other pro-Russian militants had claimed Rybak had been released. The militants gained control of the city's police weapons cache and seized hundreds of firearms, which prompted the Ukrainian government to launch a "counter-terrorism" operation to retake the city. This government counter-offensive began on the morning of 13 April. An entrenched standoff between pro-Russian forces and
11904-450: The precondition that they discuss the possibility of investigating the Biden family. Leshchenko later sought to backtrack his comments, saying he did not know if officials had viewed discussing Biden as a precondition for a meeting. Text messages given to Congress by special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker in October suggest that Zelenskyy's aide Yermak was told that Zelenskyy would be invited for
12032-444: The recommendation, with the proposition that Firtash could help to provide compromising information on Biden, which Parnas's attorney described was "part of any potential resolution to [Firtash's] extradition matter". Shokin's statement notes that it was prepared "at the request of lawyers acting for Dmitry Firtash". Bloomberg News reported on October 18 that during the summer of 2019 Firtash associates began attempting to dig up dirt on
12160-452: The region should join Russia, or declare independence. Turchynov relaunched the stalled counter-offensive against pro-Russian insurgents on 22 April, after two men, one a local politician, were found "tortured to death". The politician, Volodymyr Rybak , was found dead near Sloviansk after having been abducted by pro-Russian insurgents. Turchynov said that "the terrorists who effectively took
12288-568: The region to separate from Ukraine. Pro-Russian protesters occupied the Donetsk Regional State Administration Building from 1 to 6 March 2014, before being removed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Pavel Gubarev , a member of the neo-Nazi group Russian National Unity , was proclaimed "people's governor" of Donetsk Oblast. On 6 April, 1,000–2,000 people gathered at a rally in Donetsk to demand
12416-548: The regional government with a "people's mandate", and dismiss all elected regional councillors and members of parliament. As these demands were not met, the following day the activists held a meeting in the building and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as an independent state. Unrest also began in Luhansk on 6 April, when hundreds of protesters attacked and laid siege to the SBU headquarters for six hours, demanding
12544-409: The regional state television network on 27 April. After capturing the broadcasting centre, the militants began to broadcast Russian television channels. The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) was declared on 27 April. Representatives of the Republic demanded that the Ukrainian government provide amnesty for all protesters, enshrine Russian as an official language, and hold a referendum on the status of
12672-481: The release of anti-government militants held there. They eventually stormed the building, releasing prisoners and seizing weapons. In response to the widening unrest, Acting Ukrainian President, Oleksandr Turchynov announced on 7 April that Ukraine would launch an "anti-terrorist operation". On 8 April, he signed a decree to take the Donetsk regional government buildings "under state protection". The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov , said on 9 April that
12800-636: The separatist movement in Donetsk from April until August 2014, and were supported by volunteers and materiel from Russia. As the conflict escalated in May 2014, Russia employed a " hybrid approach", deploying a combination of disinformation, irregular fighters, regular Russian troops, and conventional military support to destabilize the Donbas. Between 12 April and 14 April, Russian-allied militants took control of government buildings in several towns and cities in Donetsk oblast, including Sloviansk , Mariupol , Horlivka , Kramatorsk , Yenakiieve , Makiivka , Druzhkivka , and Zhdanivka . On 12 April,
12928-427: The situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue". After Zelenskyy said this, Trump offered to meet with Zelenskyy at the White House. On the same call with Zelenskyy, Trump espoused the conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton's email server was in Ukraine; criticized the U.S.'s European allies (in particular Germany ), and disparaged the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine , Marie Yovanovitch ,
13056-558: The spokesman for this was Joe Biden." The European Union eventually praised Shokin's dismissal due to a "lack of tangible results" of his office's investigations, and also because people in Shokin's office were themselves being investigated. As of May 16, 2019, when the prosecutor general's office cleared Biden and his son of alleged corruption, there is no evidence that Biden acted to protect his son's involvement with Burisma, although Trump, Giuliani, and their allies have fueled speculation. Shokin's successor, Yuriy Lutsenko , initially took
13184-497: The story in terms of the audience's values and expectations to maximize the impact. War in Donbas (2014%E2%80%932022) [REDACTED] Ukraine (details) Ukrainian Armed Forces Security Service Internal Affairs Ministry [REDACTED] Russia (details) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Pro-Russian separatists (details) DPR Armed Forces Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related The war in Donbas , also known as
13312-503: The strategic town of Sloviansk was captured by a fifty-strong unit of heavily-armed pro-Russian militants. They attacked and occupied the town's administration building, police station, and SBU building, and set up roadblocks with the help of local armed activists. The unit were Russian Armed Forces 'volunteers' under the command of Russian GRU colonel Igor Girkin ('Strelkov'). They had been sent from Russian-occupied Crimea and wore no insignia . Girkin said that this action sparked
13440-432: The target of a conspiracy -driven smear campaign . Allegations against her were then made by Trump's personal attorney Giuliani, as well as conservative commentator John Solomon of The Hill and Ukraine's then-top prosecutor, Yuri Lutsenko , who accused her of being part of a conspiracy involving anti-corruption probes in Ukraine and efforts by the Trump administration to investigate ties between Ukrainian officials and
13568-484: The time, corruption in Ukraine was a matter of bipartisan concern in the U.S., with Republican Senators Rob Portman , Mark Kirk , and Ron Johnson co-signing a Senate Ukraine Caucus letter in February 2016 urging then-President Poroshenko to implement reforms, including "to press ahead with urgent reforms to the Prosecutor General's office". Biden was not alone in targeting Shokin for anti-corruption reasons; he
13696-479: The unrest would be resolved within 48 hours, either through negotiations or the use of force. On 10 April, President Turchynov offered amnesty to the militants, if they laid down their arms, and also offered to hold referendums on autonomy. While the initial protests were largely native expressions of discontent with the new Ukrainian government, Russia took advantage of them to launch a coordinated political and military campaign against Ukraine. Russian citizens led
13824-419: The use of "law enforcement" at the time, but that "there was a limit" to how much the Ukrainian government would tolerate. In response to the spread of separatist control throughout Donetsk Oblast and the separatists' refusal to lay down their arms, Turchynov vowed to launch a military counter-offensive operation, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation", against insurgents in the region by 15 April. On 13 April,
13952-500: The war being called a " frozen conflict ", but Donbas remained a war zone, with dozens killed monthly. In 2017, on average a Ukrainian soldier died every three days, with an estimated 40,000 separatist and 6,000 Russian troops in the region. By the end of 2017, OSCE observers had counted around 30,000 people in military gear crossing from Russia at the two border checkpoints it was allowed to monitor , and documented military convoys crossing from Russia covertly. All sides agreed to
14080-412: The war: 6,500 Russian and Russian proxy forces, 4,400 Ukrainian forces, and 3,400 civilians on both sides. Most civilian casualties were in the first year. In 2011, Ukrainian Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts had a combined population of 6,1mln. As a result of Russian military aggression in 2014, 2 million had to leave the region as refugees. Despite being recognized as an independent country since 1991 , as
14208-423: The whistleblower. A transcript of the Trump–Zelenskyy call confirmed Trump requested investigations into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden , as well as a conspiracy theory involving a Democratic National Committee server , while urging Zelenskyy to work with Giuliani and Barr on this. Former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said one reason why Trump withheld aid to Ukraine was Ukrainian "corruption related to
14336-534: The whistleblower. Asked for evidence to support his allegations, Paul replied, "we don't know unless we ask." Senator Lindsey Graham , the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, responded by saying "What basis does he have to say that? He needs to tell us ... You can't ask members [of Congress], 'Do you want to subpoena this guy?' He might be this, he might be that." Since at least May 2019, Giuliani has been pushing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
14464-629: The whole Donetsk Oblast hostage have now gone too far". The Internal Affairs Ministry reported that the city of Sviatohirsk , near Sloviansk, was retaken by Ukrainian troops on 23 April. In addition, the Defence Ministry said it had taken control over all points of strategic importance in the area around Kramatorsk . On 24 April, 70 to 100 insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked an armoury in Artemivsk. The depot housed around 30 tanks . Ukrainian troops attempted to fight off
14592-487: Was allegedly a subject. However, that investigation was dormant at the time Shokin was fired. In December 2015, then-vice president Biden visited Kyiv and informed the Ukrainian government that $ 1 billion in loan guarantees would be withheld unless anti-corruption reforms were implemented, including the removal of Shokin. Ukraine's parliament voted to dismiss Shokin in March 2016. The loan guarantees were finally approved on June 3, after additional reforms were made. At
14720-534: Was announced as the nominee for U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on May 18, 2016, to replace Geoff Pyatt . Yovanovitch was respected within the national security community for her efforts to encourage Ukraine to tackle corruption, and during her tenure had sought to strengthen the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau , which had been created to bolster efforts to fight corruption in Ukraine . As U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch became
14848-429: Was based on Solomon's interview(s) with a drunken Yuriy Lutsenko, the corrupt former Ukrainian prosecutor. Solomon's stories were nonetheless amplified by President Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. , Giuliani, Solomon, and conservative media outlets. Ukrainians who opposed Yovanovitch were also sources for Giuliani, who "was on a months-long search for political dirt in Ukraine to help President Trump." Giuliani confirmed in
14976-464: Was central to the Republican narrative that FBI and DOJ officials inappropriately obtained FISA warrants for several of Trump campaign staffers, including Carter Page . Weeks later, the memo was deemed biased, consisting of "cherry picked facts". After the leadership changeover in of the House of Representatives, Patel was hired as a staffer for President Trump's National Security Council. Within months it
15104-612: Was deliberately employed by the Yanukovych administration is promoting a strategy of regional divide-and-rule through polarization, using May 9–style provocations, to maintain its eastern Ukrainian electorate permanently mobilized. Analysts have stated that as of February 2014, Russia was able to: According to the Institute of Modern Russia, the Kremlin also maintained a tight hold on Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych . In November 2013,
15232-436: Was forced out under pressure from multiple countries and non-governmental organizations, as conveyed to Ukraine by Joe Biden. Shokin asserted in the statement that Biden actually had him fired because he refused to stop his investigation into Burisma. Giuliani, who asserts he has "nothing to do with" and has "never met or talked to" Firtash, has promoted the statement in television appearances as purported evidence of wrongdoing by
15360-519: Was impeached on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress, but was acquitted by the Senate . On December 3, 2019, as part of the inquiry, the House Intelligence Committee published a report detailing that "President Trump, personally and acting through agents within and outside of the U.S. government, solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, to benefit his reelection. ...President Trump conditioned official acts on
15488-488: Was joined by other European and U.S. officials. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt and the assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland both said in 2015 that Shokin's office was failing to root out corruption. In March 2016, testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , former ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst stated, "By late fall of 2015, the EU and the United States joined
15616-406: Was later found in a river in occupied Sloviansk on 22 April. The city administration building was seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Other smaller towns, as well as government buildings, were seized by Russian-backed militants in the Donbas. In Artemivsk on 12 April, separatists failed to capture the local Ministry of Internal Affairs office, but instead captured
15744-513: Was no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, but he was planning to provide information to Attorney General William Barr about Burisma board payments so American authorities could verify whether Hunter Biden had paid U.S. taxes. In November 2019, Senator Rand Paul asserted that the whistleblower "is a material witness to the possible corruption of Hunter Biden and Joe Biden," adding, "[the whistleblower] might have traveled with Joe Biden to Ukraine for all we know," calling for investigators to subpoena
15872-440: Was protecting the political elite, and was regarded as "an obstacle to anti-corruption efforts". Among other issues, he was slow-walking the investigation into Zlochevsky and Burisma, to the extent that Obama administration officials were considering launching their own criminal investigation into the company for possible money laundering. Shokin has said he believes he was fired because of his Burisma investigation, where Hunter Biden
16000-527: Was similarly captured on 18 April. Following the takeover, local police announced that they would co-operate with the activists. Arsen Avakov , the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on 9 April that the separatist problem would be resolved within 48 hours through either negotiations or the use of force. According to the Ukrinform state news agency, he said: "There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict –
16128-737: Was suspected that he had assumed the role of an additional independent back channel for the President, which was seen as potentially detrimental to American policy in Ukraine. It was noticed that during NSC meetings Patel took few notes and was underqualified for his portfolio, the United Nations. Politico reports this position was actually created specifically for Patel. Red flags were raised when President Trump referred to Patel as "one of his top Ukraine policy specialists" and as such wished "to discuss related documents with him". Patel's actual assignment has been counter-terrorism issues, rather than Ukraine. He
16256-415: Was thought to have operated independently of Giuliani's irregular, informal channel. Impeachment inquiry witnesses have been asked what they know about Patel. Fiona Hill told investigators that it seems "Patel was improperly becoming involved in Ukraine policy and was sending information to Mr. Trump." Sondland and Kent testified they did not come across Patel in the course of their work. On December 3, 2019,
16384-773: Was working against him. Yovanovitch's abrupt ouster shocked and outraged career State Department diplomats. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker , the chief diplomat for U.S. policy for Europe, testified that he had urged top State Department officials David Hale and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl , to issue a statement expressing strong support for Yovanovitch, but that top State Department leadership rejected this proposal. Former senior U.S. diplomats Philip H. Gordon and Daniel Fried , who served as assistant secretaries of state for European and Eurasian Affairs and as National Security Council staffers under presidents of both parties, praised Yovanovitch and condemned Trump's "egregious mistreatment of one of
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