Ex-Ukraine Envoy Kurt Volker Still Plans To Testify Despite Pompeo’s Defiant Letter

KIEV, UKRAINE - 2019/07/27: Kurt Volker, US Department Special Representative for Ukraine speaks during a press conference about US-Ukrainian relations in Kiev.The US delegation headed by the Special Representative of the United States Department of State for Ukraine, Kurt Volker on a working visit to the village of Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhansk region East of Ukraine. (Photo by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Kurt Volker, US Department Special Representative for Ukraine, speaks during a press conference about US-Ukrainian relations in Kiev on July 7, 2019. (Photo by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will testify in the House’s impeachment inquiry this week even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent State Department officials from doing so.

According to multiple reports on Tuesday, Volker still plans to give a deposition to the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight Committees on Thursday despite Pompeo’s defiant letter to the committee chairs declaring that he would “use all means at my disposal” to block their attempts to interview State Department staffers about the sprawling Ukraine scandal.

Volker resigned last week after a whistleblower complaint detailed how the ex-diplomat scrambled to clean up U.S.-Ukraine relations after Rudy Giuliani’s notorious contacts with Ukrainian officials “in an attempt to ‘contain the damage’ to U.S. national security.”

According to the complaint, Volker and other State Department officials were “deeply disturbed” by Giuliani and President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate 2020 rival Joe Biden.

Latest News
116
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Well, looks like some people get a “backbone” after they help Trump do his dirty work.

  2. And the IG is testifying tomorrow, and Yavanovitch is now scheduled for 10/11. More info will definitely be coming out in the next days/weeks, despite Pompeo obstructing.

  3. Former Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will testify in the House’s impeachment inquiry this week even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent State Department officials from doing so.

    Weak sauce dude.

  4. Basically when it dawn to them that the ones likely to go to Jail is them and not the Dotard or his henchmen.

  5. Good…he probably resigned so he could testify when called, it sounds like he was never onboard with the whole scheme and was just doing what he was told. I can understand that, especially if he was trying to limit the damage instead of going along with the insanity. It is a very good sign that he’s going to ignore Pompeo and testify, that will give others the courage to do so as well…I suspect he will get attacked before his testimony to try to stop him, and maybe even have the DoJ try to throw up a roadblock, plus the committee Republicans will try to tear him apart for deigning to go out and tell the truth, but it sounds like he’s willing to put it out there and bear the consequences of telling the truth.

    If we can get senior staffers like this to spill the beans, then we get lots of information they do not want out in the wild…and these people aren’t all Trump acolytes, they are just doing their jobs and trying to survive, so their loyalty is to the nation. It’s about to be tested, we’ll see how many of them stand up to the administration and tell us what has been going on.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

110 more replies

Participants

Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for cervantes Avatar for rollinnolan Avatar for dont Avatar for sniffit Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for midnight_rambler Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for generalsternwood Avatar for moreyampersand Avatar for pshah Avatar for jinnj Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for not_so_fluffy Avatar for spin Avatar for erik_t Avatar for justruss Avatar for timorwig Avatar for dogmaalsocatma Avatar for bunnyvelour Avatar for dicktater Avatar for zentropy Avatar for emiliano4

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: