Pompeo Pushed Out His Own Ukraine Rep to Squash a Growing Scandal

[Nevermypresident]

Giuliani waved his phone on air, flashing text messages between himself and State Department representatives, saying it was the department that connected him to a close adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Giuliani’s on-air appearances threw the department into a tizzy, forcing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to try to quell a bubbling internal crisis of confidence, according to three senior U.S. officials. For Pompeo, to solve the problem meant to find someone to blame, and there was only one individual who fit the mold, according to those same sources: former U.S. representative for Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker.

In response, Pompeo tried a time-tested Trump White House strategy: stonewalling Congress. The secretary said Tuesday that Congress was “bullying” career officials and suggested they would not appear for questioning. (The State Department’s inspector general is currently investigating members of Pompeo’s department for pushing career officials out of their posts for perceived political bias.)

Pompeo’s plan appears to have backfired. Despite the secretary’s efforts to block several of his current and former officials from speaking to Congress, Volker is set to go to Capitol Hill on Thursday with the backing of a cadre of current and former diplomats. Some of those diplomats spoke to The Daily Beast and requested anonymity because they feared reprisals from Pompeo and other Trump administration officials.

Now the department is bracing for impact. Current and former State Department officials who spoke to The Daily Beast, some of who are close Volker, said he was forced out of his post. Volker’s interview with Congress could lay bare details of Pompeo’s involvement in the Trump-Giuliani Ukraine saga.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-pompeo-pushed-out-his-own-ukraine-representative-kurt-volker-to-quiet-a-growing-scandal