Rudy Giuliani pushed Trump administration to grant a visa to a Ukrainian official promising dirt on Democrats

The requested issuance of a visa to a Ukrainian is at the center of the impeachment drama gripping the United States. The Washington Post and CNN reports that career diplomat George Kent reportedly told congressional investigators in closed-door testimony that Rudy Giuliani asked the State Department and the White House to grant a visa to a former Ukrainian official who Joe Biden had pushed to have removed when he was vice president.

Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, testified that Giuliani requested a visa for former Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin to travel to the United States. Shokin had been pushed out of his position as Ukraine’s top prosecutor in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including Biden, over concerns that he was not pursuing corruption cases.

Giuliani has previously told CNN he wanted to interview Shokin in person because the Ukrainian promised to reveal dirt on Democrats.

Kent told congressional investigators that the State Departmentdid not grant the visa. Giuliani, Kent said, then appealed to the White House. Rob Blair, a White House aide to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, consulted with the State Department about the decision and sided with the department’s rejection of the visa.

When asked about the matter, a State Department official said that visa records are confidential and the department does not discuss the specifics of individual cases.

Generally, visa applicants are required by US law to be interviewed by a consular officer at a US embassy. A visa application can be denied for a number of reasons, including if the applicant is inadmissible under the immigration laws.

Shokin’s visa was never granted, although Giuliani eventually spoke with Shokin over Skype.

The incident reveals how Giuliani’s work to dig up dirt on Democrats went much further than previously understood — and included an attempt to directly influence the actions of the U.S. government. Concerns that Giuliani was inappropriately involved in shaping and driving the administration’s Ukraine policy form a significant part of the intelligence community whistleblower’s complaint, which prompted the ongoing impeachment investigation.

KJ