A powerful Ukrainian is playing both sides of Giuliani's Ukraine project
KYIV – One of the Ukrainians whose names have surfaced in Rudy Giuliani's ongoing crusade to tar the Bidens is a powerful politician with a knack for playing all sides to his advantage.
Documents and testimony released by Congress as part of President Donald Trump's impeachment investigation have revealed how Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov helped Giuliani associate Lev Parnas gain access to Ukraine's powerful business and political elites as he dug for dirt on the Bidens, exchanging more than 100 messages with Parnas.
But they also show that Avakov warned U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and other U.S. Embassy officials about Parnas' activities on behalf of Giuliani and about their efforts to oust her from her job. In fact, Avakov is now overseeing the Ukrainian government's investigation into whether Giuliani associates improperly surveilled Yovanovitch by tracking her phone and computer.
According to testimony from Yovanovitch, on Nov. 15, 2018, Avakov told her that Parnas and Giuliani had reached out to him while he was in the U.S. Avakov said he spoke to Giuliani briefly on the phone, Yovanovitch said, but he told her "he didn't actually want to meet with Mayor Giuliani because of his concerns about what they were doing…”
