US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted yesterday that he listened to the phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, which prompted the House of Representatives to launch an investigation against the Republican president.
After this confession, Pompeo moved closer to the center of the scandal and raised additional questions about his role in the administration's interaction with Ukraine, and the presidents of the Democratic committees accused him of trying to influence the investigation by intimidating witnesses.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry last Sunday after an intelligence whistleblower filed a complaint with the U.S. intelligence community over Trump's request in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
"I listened to that conversation," Pompeo told reporters during a visit to Italy.
Pompeo said that the conversation was in the context of US policy in Ukraine, including "dealing with the Russian threat", eradicating corruption in the government and strengthening the economy.
In an increasingly tense standoff between House Democrats and the Trump administration, the Democratic-controlled committees have subpoenaed Pompeo and Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to testify. This Sunday will also begin the deposition of current and former State Department officials, Reuters reported.
Kurt Walker, who resigned last Friday as Trump's special representative for Ukraine, is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill today. Marie Jovovich, who was the US ambassador to Ukraine until she was suddenly recalled in May, has agreed to testify on October 11. In the conversation with Zelensky, Trump called Jovovich "trouble".
Because of their intimate knowledge of the situation in Ukraine, Jovovich's and Walker's testimony could be extremely important to the impeachment inquiry.
Pompeo on Tuesday opposed House efforts to obtain testimony from his officials and accused Democrats of bullying and intimidation.
Pompeo said that State Department employees were directly contacted by lawmakers or their associates and told not to speak with the State Department's legal counsel. However, he emphasized that he will cooperate with the Congress.
"We will of course do our constitutional duty and cooperate with the competent institutions, but we will do it in a way that is consistent with the essential values of the American system," said Pompeo.
Democratic chairmen from three committees of the House of Representatives, on the other hand, accuse Pompeo of witness intimidation and warn that he is considered a "witness in the impeachment inquiry."
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, warned Pompeo not to prevent diplomatic officials from testifying before congressional committees. "We are deeply concerned about Secretary Pompeo's efforts to potentially intervene with witnesses whose testimony is needed by our committees, many of whom are mentioned in the whistleblower's complaint," Schiff said. "We want to make clear that any effort by the Secretary, the President or anyone else to interfere with Congress's ability to subpoena relevant witnesses will be considered obstruction of Congress's lawful functions," Schiff added.
The State Department's inspector general plans to brief congressional committees on recent examples of possible political retaliation by State Department leaders against employees in connection with Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Yesterday, Trump again criticized the Democrats for opening the impeachment inquiry, and accused Adam Schiff of treason. The possibility that Trump sought Ukraine's help against his potential rival in next year's election has angered Democrats, who believe Russian interference contributed to their defeat in the 2016 election.
Putin sees nothing controversial in the conversation between Trump and Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday supported Trump in the internal political conflict in the US and joked that Moscow would hack the presidential election in 2020. Putin said that, based on the transcript, he saw no evidence that Trump exerted any pressure on Zelensky. "I don't see anything compromising. "President Trump asked a colleague to investigate possible corruption cases of former employees in the administration," Putin said in Moscow. "Every head of state should be obliged to do that".
He said that the accusations against Trump are a new attempt by American Democrats to overthrow the president after, as he said, they failed to find evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election.
"We see what is happening in the US - everything is being used to attack Trump. Now it is Ukraine... It is clear that there was no collusion between Russia and Trump's team... Now they have found a connection with Ukraine”.
Asked how he would comment on fears of a Russian attempt to interfere in next year's election, Putin leaned closer to the microphone and said: "I'll let you in on a secret - yes, we'll definitely do it to cheer you up."
The Russian leader also said that he would not mind if his conversations with Trump were published and that, due to his experience in the KGB, he always assumed that his words could be published.
"I didn't always deal with what I'm doing now, and I know from previous experience that every conversation can be published," Putin said.
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