Former envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker told lawmakers Tuesday that he now has concerns about the investigations the administration sought from Ukraine.
Throughout his previous testimony, Mr. Volker said he never connected the push to investigate the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to former Vice President Joe Biden but can see how the Ukrainians would have.
“I did not know that President Trump or others had raised Vice President Biden with the Ukrainians, or had conflated the investigation of possible Ukrainian corruption, with the investigation of the former Vice President,” he said. “In retrospect, for the Ukrainians, it clearly would have been confusing.”
He rejected the allegations against Mr. Biden, saying there was a separate allegation of corruption against Burisma.
Mr. Volker — who worked alongside Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Energy Secretary Rick Perry — to set up a meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky knew the administration wanted Ukraine to commit to investigations into Burisma and 2016 election interference.
He worked on setting up an anti-corruption statement — that Mr. Giuliani wanted to specifically mention Burisma and 2016 — but was ultimately shelved.
He did not know about the link to Mr. Biden until the July 25 Trump-Zelenksy call was made public in late September.
“In retrospect, I should have seen that connection differently, and had I done so, I would have raised my own objections,” he said.
Mr. Volker was the first witness to testify behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry in early October. His latest testimony makes many references to what he’s seen others understand of events since more details and accounts have surfaced.
He testified that he didn’t understand the military aid was contingent on anything the Ukrainians needed to do, but was unaware “others were converting a different message” at the same time.
He also reiterated that he saw Mr. Trump was “receiving a different, negative narrative” about Ukraine from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko via Mr. Giuliani.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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