Giuliani: State Department official should 'step forward,' 'I wasn't operating on my own'

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday called on Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative to Ukraine, and other State Department officials to say that they directed Giuliani to meet with Ukrainian officials in the wake of a whistleblower complaint released Thursday on Trump and Giuliani’s contacts with Ukraine.

Giuliani appeared to share text messages from Volker in an appearance on Fox News Thursday night. One encouraged Giuliani to call him to “brief you more about [Ukrainian president Volodymyr] Zelensky dynamic,” and another “connected” Giuliani with Andrey Yermak, a Zelensky aide.

“He should step forward and explain what he did,” Giuliani told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “The whistleblower falsely alleges that I was operating on my own. Well, I wasn’t operating on my own.”


“I went to meet Mr. Zelensky’s aide at the request of the State Department,” Giuliani continued.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/463340-giuliani-state-department-official-should-step-forward-i-wasnt

---

Smart enough not to be the patsy?

[Docreed2003]

1. Lol..."it wasn't just me, those guys did it too"

Don't worry Rudy, there's plenty of room under the bus

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. Please proceed.

[DetlefK]

3. Hold on... Yesterday Giuliani said he has evidence that the State Department directed him to go.

What happened to Giuliani's evidence???

[pnwmom]

37. His "evidence" is that he has texts from Volker. HOWEVER, and this is a big however,

Volker is just an unpaid, volunteer, "special US representative" to the Ukraine.

Volker is ALSO a paid DC lobbyist at the BGR group, among other things.

So the guy Rudy is holding up as "proof" that he was taking directions from the State department is a DC lobbyist.

Curiously, his page at the BGR site doesn't mention that he's a volunteer special assistant anything with the State Department.
And his State Department page doesn't mention that he's CURRENTLY a lobbyist with BGR.

HIS BGR bio:

http://bgrdc.com/b/bio/30/Ambassador-Kurt-Volker?fbclid=IwAR2sF5fdpSuwo7N-tc3MDHXSJGduoRTnDLxpeZu_BHh0DgWHe3B7mnpqrcA

Ambassador Kurt Volker provides strategic advice to BGR on a full range of international issues. He previously served as Managing Director, International, for BGR in 2011-2012.

A former career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, he had more than 23 years of experience working on European policy under five presidential administrations. He served as Ambassador to NATO from 2008 to 2009, straddling the transition from the Bush to the Obama administrations.

From July 2005 to June 2008, Ambassador Volker served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

SNIP

HIS STATE BIO:

https://www.state.gov/biographies/kurt-volker/

Ambassador Kurt Volker is a leading expert in U.S. foreign and national security policy with some 30 years of experience in a variety of government, academic, and private sector capacities. Ambassador Volker serves as Executive Director of The McCain Institute for International Leadership, a part of Arizona State University based in Washington, DC. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, a Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council, and a Trustee of IAU College in Aix-en-Provence, France. He is a consultant to international business, a member of the Board of Directors of CG Funds Trust, and had previously served as Managing Director, International, for BGR Group. He has taught Transatlantic Relations at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. In July, 2017, Secretary of State Tillerson appointed Ambassador Volker as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. It's only a pretext for the Mob Racket tactics against US ally in support of tRump campaign

Who directed the State Department to lean on Ukraine to fabricate crap against tRump political opponent? Pompeo? Barr?

It's all a coverup. Once Giuliani got his fig leaf cover letter, he was free to tell Zelensky "Nice little country you got there. Shame if we let Putin eat another chunk."

[htuttle]

5. He seems frightened of the Logan Act

...so someone should charge him with violating it.

[smb]

16. Why Would He Be Frightened?

They can't lock him up; he'd just turn into a bat and fly between the bars.

[atreides1]

27. Someone should!

But it won't be anyone from the current DOJ!!!!

[C_U_L8R]

6. Crickets from the State Dept

I don't see a rush of defenders. Corrupt Rudy is having a Wily Coyote Ran Off The Cliff moment.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Yes, but who directed Kurt Volker to call Giuliani?

Bet it was Trump since it seems to be a pattern of his to ask people to call on his people.

[Siwsan]

8. I'm still finding it hard to believe that the State Dept sent him instructions via texts!

Admittedly, I'm not the most technically savvy individual, but how secure can that be??

[tblue37]

11. He did show Volker texts during an interview last night, though.

He showed a second one, too.

[fleur-de-lisa]

19. I wonder why Rudy thinks this will save him. Kurt Volker isn't officially with the State Department.

Volker serves in a "volunteer capacity" as a Special Representative for Ukraine but his real job is executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

[canetoad]

35. That text is ambiguous

'As discussed' - at breakfast. Doesn't say who instigated the discussion.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Can we find other sources than theHill? This is the second thread in a row from that shitty outfit.

[brooklynite]

14. Then don't read them...

They write stories about politics. Too many people are unhappy because some stories aren't 100% supportive of their political view.

POLITICO did a major reveal of the corruption of Jerry Falwell Jr. at Liberty University, but of course they're "pro-Trump" because they run factually true stories about issues regarding the candidate of your choice.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. ? theHill is not Politico. . . . nt

[brooklynite]

23. I see the same complaints about both...

[Nevermypresident]

26. +1

[Lulu KC]

15. I believe the Hill was a footnote in the WB complaint

I found it a little odd.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Somebody (WB) in the WH is likely to be Republicon and read Republicon news aggregators. . . . nt

[beastie boy]

33. Here, Bernardo. Just doing my part. You're welcome, Brooklynite.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/rudy-giuliani-calls-on-state-department-official-kurt-volker-to-step-forward-and-explain-ukraine-outreach

Diligence and civility matter.

[Scarsdale]

10. Fer cry sake!

How many traitors are in this administration? Any honest people had better come forward - PRONTO - before they are accused of wrongdoing. So, Kushner, Ivanka and Rudy operate globally without security clearances? Talk about the "gang who couldn't shoot straight" Seems none of them know exactly what they are doing, except that other people have to take the blame when the doo doo hits the windmill. Yet, here comes the gop with every excuse under the sun, to cover their orange mistake with a cloak of innocence in all of this. What happened to this country?

[durablend]

12. I think the better question would be

How many *aren't* traitors? That'd wittle the list down to just a handful (if even that)

[Javaman]

18. "How many traitors are in this administration?"

all of them. either willing or unwilling.

[lagomorph777]

13. Trump and his henchmen are frantically finger-pointing at each other.

So sad.

[Javaman]

17. the bag man squeals...

like a typical repuke; something is only a problem when it happens to him. now, suddenly, he's willing to take everyone down to save his own skin.

a den of thieves.

[PatSeg]

20. I am absolutely flabbergasted

at how stupid this man is. He once was attorney general of New York, so I'm assuming he does know the law. Yet he is so careless and reckless in public, making himself an easy target for any zealous prosecutor or even a simple "country lawyer". He sounds really scared now. Did he really not know that this day was coming?

[brooklynite]

24. Trump was NOT "Attorney General", he was "US Attorney"

[CatMor]

29. Trump was neither and we are lucky for that.

[PatSeg]

36. I assume you meant Giuliani

"Giuliani served as United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983. That year he became the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, holding the position until 1989." Wikipedia

I'm sorry, I should have said Associate Attorney General. My point though was he clearly should know the law well enough, to realize he was heading off a cliff.

[onetexan]

25. Please keep talking Ghooliani, name everyone that was involved!!

Keep pointing your sorry little finger on your very small hands

[Thomas Hurt]

28. I am ambivalent about this...

I can see Rudy lying through his teeth about State asking him to go when he really went at the behest of the President.

I can see the Trump State Dept sending him, just cuz it has been taken over by incompetents and apparatchiks.

[SunSeeker]

30. LOL. The rats are turning on each other. That didn't take long.

[duforsure]

31. He needs to be under oath

Then I'll listen to this idiot.

[ancianita]

32. Fishin' for a fall guy.

[BlueIdaho]

34. But Rudy...

On Fox News you held up your phone and said the proof is all right here. So - show us the proof.