Advertisement
Trump impeachment probe casts little-known diplomat Kurt Volker into spotlight
- The former US special envoy to Ukraine, once an obscure diplomat, is now cast in the spotlight as a central figure in the unfolding impeachment inquiry
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Kurt Volker was little known outside foreign policy circles as the United States’ special envoy to Ukraine until last week, when the whistle-blower complaint against US President Donald Trump recast the once obscure diplomat as a central figure in the unfolding impeachment inquiry.
Advertisement
He arrived at Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify in private to congressional investigators who want to ask about any role he may have played in Trump’s efforts to press Ukrainian officials for damaging information about the son of former vice-president Joe Biden.
Volker resigned on Friday after being asked to testify to Congress about the complaint, which describes how Trump in a July 25 phone call repeatedly prodded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for an investigation of Biden and his son, while his administration delayed the release of military aid to help Ukraine fight Russia-backed separatists.
The complaint says Volker met in Kiev with Zelensky and other Ukrainian political figures a day after the call and he provided advice about how to “navigate” Trump’s demands.
Volker is not considered a Trump ally and reportedly felt he was “forced out” by the president’s loyalists.
He is expected to point out the risks created by the freewheeling effort led by presidential lawyer Rudy Giuliani to unearth damaging information about Biden and his son Hunter, CNN reported.
Advertisement
Advertisement