Giuliani says Pompeo was aware of his Ukraine outreach
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rudy Giuliani on Sunday said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was aware of his efforts to pressure Ukraine’s government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, a claim furthering allegations of the State Department’s involvement in the campaign.
Appearing on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Giuliani said he had acted “at the request of the State Department.”
“I have all of the text messages to prove it,” Giuliani said. “And, I also have a 'thank you' from them from doing a good job.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The State Department did not comment on Giuliani's claims.
It came after the release last Thursday of a whistleblower complaint at the center of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
The complaint, which detailed a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, alleged that Kurt Volker, a former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, reached out to Giuliani to “contain the damage” of his dealings with Ukraine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Giuliani said Volker facilitated a meeting with Andriy Yermak, a top Zelensky aide, in July. After that meeting, Giuliani said he briefed Volker and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, on his conversation with Yermak.
The State Department has confirmed that Volker helped secure a meeting between Giuliani and Yermak but denied that Giuliani was acting “on behalf” of the Trump administration.
Volker resigned as special envoy to Ukraine after the allegations came to light. Congressional Democrats have said they will compel Volker to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry.
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Giuliani told “Face The Nation” that Pompeo’s name was never brought up during those conversations, but claimed that the secretary was aware of his outreach to Ukraine.
“[W]hen I spoke to the secretary last week, I said, ‘Are you aware of this?’ and he said, ‘Yes, I know about this,” Giuliani said.
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Giuliani also surmised that State Department officials have been trying to downplay Volker’s effort in his outreach.
“The State Department is running away from me,” he said.