US
diplomats told Zelenskiy that Trump visit was dependent on Biden statement
Newly-released
texts show diplomats made clear that improvement in Kyiv’s relations with
Washington was linked to cooperation
Julian
Borger and Lauren Gambino in Washington
Fri 4 Oct
2019 06.14 BST
Last
modified on Fri 4 Oct 2019 06.54 BST
US
diplomats told Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that a prestigious
White House visit to meet Donald Trump was dependent on him making a public
statement vowing to investigate Hunter Biden’s company, and a Ukrainian role in
the 2016 elections, according to texts released on Thursday night.
The texts,
released by three congressional committees holding impeachment hearings, show
that the diplomats made clear that any improvement in Kyiv’s relations with
Washington would be dependent on Zelenskiy’s cooperation in Trump’s quest to
find damaging material about son of his leading political opponent, and on the
Democrats in general.
In August,
Zelenskiy’s government became aware, through a US press report, that military
aid for its struggle with Russia, had been withheld by Trump, in an apparent
effort to increase the pressure on the Ukrainian government.
The texts
are exchanges from July to early September between three US diplomats - Gordon
Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, Kurt Volker, the then special
envoy on Ukraine, and Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Kyiv. Trump’s
personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani and a Zelenskiy aide, Andrey Yermak, also make
brief appearances in the correspondence.
The
conversations leave no doubt that the state department was deeply involved in
the effort to use the office of the presidency to pressure a foreign government
to investigate Trump’s political enemies. At one point the diplomats even draft
a statement for Zelenskiy to read out.
The early
conversations come before a 25 July phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy that
was the trigger for the impeachment proceedings now consuming Congress. They
show that Sondland coached Zelenskiy on the call, making clear what would be
required from him.
“I [spoke]
to Zelensky and gave him a full briefing. He’s got it,” Sondland, a major donor
to Trump and the Republican party, texted Volker.
Volker
replied: “Most [important] is for Zelensky to say that he will help
investigation – and address any specific personnel issues – if there are any.”
For their
part, the Ukrainians were quite aware about what was happening and were deeply
uneasy about what they were being asked to do. They made their concerns clear
to Bill Taylor, who had taken on the acting ambassador’s job in May.
I [spoke] to Zelensky and gave him a full
briefing. He’s got it
Gordon Sondland
“Gordon,
one thing Kurt and I talked about yesterday was [Ukranian finance minister]
Sasha Danyliuk’s point that President Zelensky is sensitive about Ukraine being
taken seriously, not merely as an instrument in Washington domestic ,
reelection politics,” Taylor wrote to Sondland on 21 July.
Sondland,
the Trump donor and ambassador to the EU, brushes aside the concerns, arguing
they had to move forward “irrespective of the pretext.”
“I am
worried about the alternative,” he added, in a likely reference to a dramatic
worsening in relations.
On 25 July,
just before the Trump-Zelenskiy call, Volker texted Yermak, the Zelenskiy aide:
“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.”
Trump and
his supporters have sought to create a counter-narrative to the US intelligence
community finding that Russia intervened in the 2016 US election in Trump’s
favour. According to the counter-narrative, the real interference came from
Ukrainian oligarchs and was in Hillary Clinton’s favour. There is no evidence
for the theory, but the launch of an investigation by Kyiv would have given it
credence.
After the
25 July presidential call, Yermak confirmed it “went well” and Trump told
Zelenskiy to pick a date for his White House visit. However, a final agreement
was clearly delayed. By 9 August Sondland told Volker the White House was ready
to confirm the visit “as soon as Yermak confirms”. He added: “I think potus
[Trump] really wants the deliverable.”
Sondland
suggests asking Yermak to forward a draft of what Zelenskiy is going to say. On
the same day, Volker checked in with Giuliani and told him about the statement
the Ukrainian president is going to make.
“Can we all
get on the phone to make sure I advise Z correctly as to what he should be
saying? Want to make sure we get this done right,” Volker said. Giuliani
agreed.
The next
day, it was clear the Ukrainians were nervous about trusting Trump and ask for
the date of the White House visit to be announced before Zelenskiy made his
statement.
“Once we
have a date, will call for a press briefing announcing upcoming visit and
outlining vision for the reboot of US-Ukraine relationship, including among
other things Burisma [the energy corporation on which Hunter Biden was a board
member] and election meddling in investigations [a likely garble for
investigation into election meddling],” Yermak suggests.
On the same
day, Volker presented a US draft of what Zelenskiy should say to Sondland.
“Special
attention should be paid to the problem of interference in the political
processes of the United States, especially with the alleged involvement of some
Ukrainian politicians. I want to declare that this is unacceptable,” the draft
statement said. “We intend to initiate and complete a transparent and unbiased
investigation of all available facts and episodes, including those involving
Burisma and the 2016 US elections, which in turn will prevent the recurrence of
this problem in the future.”
“Perfect.
Let’s send to Andrey after our call,” Sondland replied.
However,
the plan to exchange Zelenskiy’s statement for a White House visit was
torpedoed when the Ukrainians read a report on the Politico news site, that
Trump had blocked $250 million in military aid to Ukraine, as well as state
department funding.
The news
made the Ukrainians even more skittish. Taylor, increasingly uneasy himself,
asked Sondland directly: “Are we now saying that security assistance and WH
meeting are conditioned on investigations.”
In reply,
Sondland told him to call to get a reply, instead of texting.
Taylor
wrote to both Sondland and Volker to express his shared misgivings with the
Kyiv government, that Zelenskiy would make his statement this time in the form
of an interview, but that Ukraine would still not receive the military aid.
“The
nightmare is they give the interview and don’t get the security assistance. The
Russians love it. (and I quit.)” Taylor warned.
The last
published text is dated 9 September and is between a distressed Taylor and
Sondland.
“The
message to the Ukrainians (and Russians) we send with the decision on security
assistance is key. With the hold, we have already shaken their faith in us.
Thus my nightmare scenario,” Taylor said, adding: “As I said on the phone, I
think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political
campaign.”
Sondland’s
reply was startling. Throughout the text dialogue he had taken the lead in
arranging the original quid pro quo, Ukrainian help in investigating Biden’s
company and the 2016 election, in return for a White House visit.
But on 9
September , as if he had become newly aware of the high stakes of leaving a
digital trail of the conversation, Sondland adopted a suddenly formal tone and
reverted to the official line. By that time, the White House had become aware
that a complaint about the 25 July presidential phone call was in the pipeline,
and that it was likely to cause a scandal.
“Bill, I
believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has
been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind,” he told Taylor.
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