This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
Kurt Volker Resigns as Trump's Envoy for Ukraine ¶
On September 27, 2019, Kurt D. Volker, the State Department's special envoy for Ukraine, abruptly resigned his post. This move comes amid a House impeachment inquiry into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
Volker's resignation was announced on the same day that House leaders announced plans to interview him in a deposition. The inquiry is centered around allegations that President Trump pressured Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats.
Volker, a widely respected former ambassador to NATO, served in the part-time, unpaid position of special envoy to help Ukraine resolve its armed confrontation with Russia-sponsored separatists. He was among the government officials who found themselves in an awkward position because of the search for dirt on Democrats, reluctant to cross the president or his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, yet wary of getting drawn into politics outside their purview.
Volker facilitated an entree for Giuliani with the newly elected government in Ukraine, acting not at the instruction of Trump or Pompeo, but at the request of the Ukrainians, who were worried because Giuliani was seeking information about Biden and other Democrats and had denounced top Ukrainian officials as 'enemies of the president.'
Reacting to Volker's resignation, Giuliani said his release of the texts was not intended to get him 'in trouble,' and he defended the special envoy's role in facilitating the talks with Yermak.
Giuliani said, 'I was in the unique position to help them,' adding that he kept both Volker and Sondland apprised of the talks.
Volker's resignation marks the first since revelations about Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine's president to investigate Biden and other Democrats. The disclosures have triggered a full-blown House impeachment inquiry.
