Showing posts with label trump impeachment inquiry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trump impeachment inquiry. Show all posts

Friday, September 27, 2019

Harris Demands Inspector General Investigate Any State Department Officials Working with Rudy Giuliani




U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Thursday sent a letter to Steve Linick, Inspector General for the Department of State, demanding he investigate whether any Department of State officials enabled Rudy Giuliani to advance political activities on behalf of President Trump, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Ambassador Kurt Volker, and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.
“The August 12, 2019 complaint by an Intelligence Community whistleblower details the multiple efforts by President Trump and Mr. Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate baseless claims about former Vice President Joe Biden and the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee,” wrote Harris. “These efforts are an attempt to discredit a potential opponent and improve the President’s prospects for re-election—and a threat to the integrity of our democratic government.”
Harris continued, “To help ensure that the foreign relations of the United States are carried out in good faith, I request that you investigate these and other circumstances described in the complaint and preserve all relevant records. I am particularly concerned that Department officials might have been aware of or aided Mr. Giuliani in violation of law or regulations against engaging in partisan political activities.”
The full letter is available here or below:
September 26, 2019
The Honorable Steve Linick
Inspector General
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Inspector General
SA-39
1700 North Moore Street
Arlington, VA 22209

Dear Inspector General Linick:
In light of recent revelations that the President of the United States pressured a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election, I write to request that you open an investigation into whether any Department of State officials, including Secretary of State Pompeo, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Ambassador Kurt Volker, and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, worked with President Trump’s close associate and personal lawyer Mr. Rudy Giuliani in violation of restrictions on engaging in partisan political activities.
The August 12, 2019 complaint by an Intelligence Community whistleblower details the multiple efforts by President Trump and Mr. Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate baseless claims about former Vice President Joe Biden and the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee. These efforts are an attempt to discredit a potential opponent and improve the President’s prospects for re-election—and a threat to the integrity of our democratic government.
The complaint references a number of U.S. officials, including at least two Department officials. One day after President Trump repeatedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Mr. Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to investigate Vice President Biden and the hack of the DNC, Ambassadors Volker and Sondland met with President Zelensky and other officials to advise “how to ‘navigate’ the demands [President Trump] had made.” Ambassadors Volker and Sondland also reportedly spoke with Mr. Giuliani “in an attempt to ‘contain the damage’ to U.S. national security.” Additionally, the allegations in the complaint suggest that the decision by senior Department officials to remove former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie L. Yovanovitch from her post in Kyiv may have been informed by partisan political objectives, a decision Mr. Giuliani later said was “because she was part of the efforts against the President.”
To help ensure that the foreign relations of the United States are carried out in good faith, I request that you investigate these and other circumstances described in the complaint and preserve all relevant records. I am particularly concerned that Department officials might have been aware of or aided Mr. Giuliani in violation of law or regulations against engaging in partisan political activities. I request your initial response by Thursday, October 3, 2019.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. It is critical that Americans trust that their government acts in their best interest, not the interest of any one candidate.
Sincerely,