8:41 p.m. ET, October 3, 2019
New York Times: Trump envoys pressed Ukraine to commit to investigate US political rivals
From CNN's Paul LeBlanc
Two of President Trump's top envoys to
Ukraine drafted a statement for that country in August that would've committed Ukraine to launching investigations into the President's political rivals,
The New York Times reported today citing three people briefed on the effort.
The statement, the Times reported, according to the three people briefed, was drafted by Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt Volker, who was then the State Department's envoy to Ukraine.
According to the Times, the statement would have committed Ukraine to investigate an energy company that employed former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, despite
no evidence of wrongdoing by either.
The statement also would have called on the country to investigate what Trump has perceived as Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US election to benefit Hillary Clinton, the paper reported.
Both Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were aware of the statement being written, the Times said. It remains unclear if the statement was ever delivered to Zelensky, according to the newspaper.
Giuliani told CNN after the Times' story published that he "never saw it or even draft of it."
"This is their testimony if it is and not part of my role," Giuliani texted. "They have to explain it. Lots of things going on I didn't know about."
What we know: The statement was drafted, the Times said, in the weeks after a July phone call between Trump and Zelensky that has now set off a political storm in Washington after a whistleblower complaint released this past week alleged that Trump abused his official powers "to solicit interference" from Ukraine in the 2020 election and that the White House took steps to cover it up. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.