A key figure in the Trump-Ukraine controversy is leaving the Trump administration.
On Friday, Kurt Volker, the American diplomat who was named in the whistleblower’s complaint, reportedly resigned from his position as U.S. special envoy for Ukraine.
Raising eyebrows
Arizona State University student newspaper The State Press first reported that Volker met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday to tender his resignation. Volker, head of the McCain Institute for International Leadership, served in the unpaid, part-time role of acting U.S. special envoy to Ukraine since July of 2017.
The timing of the resignation is not insignificant, as it came just hours after the House Democrats said that they intend to have Volker participate in a deposition as part of the impeachment inquiry that they have launched into President Donald Trump.
That deposition would have taken place on October 3. But now, it is unclear what will happen.
Volker’s role
As the special envoy for Ukraine, Volker helped Ukraine to fight off the Russian-backed separatists by overseeing the delivery of military equipment from the U.S. to Ukrainian fighters.
But, recently, attention has been focused on Volker for his role in the whistleblower allegations.
In the complaint that was released on Thursday, the whistleblower alleges that Trump, in a July 25th phone call with Ukraine’s president, asked, among other things, that former Vice President Joe Biden be investigated. From then on, the matter was supposed to be taken care of by Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr.
Volker, who was named in the whistleblower complaint, is said to be one of two State Department officials who spoke with Giuliani to “contain the damage” to U.S. national security. He also is said to have subsequently met with Ukranian officials to help them “navigate” the “demands” of Trump.
Since then, the State Department has denied interaction with Giuliani. But, Giuliani has said otherwise, stating that he has text messages — specifically between he and Volker — to prove it.
What now?
From the outside looking in, Volker’s resignation does not look good for supporters of President Donald Trump. Usually, when people like Volker resign in this type of situation it is a sign that they have something to hide — that perhaps they did something wrong.
But, for now, all we can do is wait to see how things progress.
No comments: