the bottom" of potential Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 election.[1] This reading is supported by President Trump's subsequent reference to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who had testified the day before about his findings,[2] and to Attorney General William Barr, who had initiated an official inquiry into the origins of the U.S. government's 2016 Russia investigation.[3]
President Zelensky did not express any concern that President Trump had raised the allegations about Ukrainian influence in the 2016 election. In fact, President Zelensky responded by reiterating his commitment to cooperation between Ukraine and the United States and mentioning that he had recalled the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly.[4] Ambassador Chaly had authored an op-ed in The Hill during the height of the presidential campaign in 2016 criticizing a statement that President Trump had made by Crimea.[5] President Zelensky said he planned to surround himself with "the best and most experienced people" and pledged that "as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly."[6] President Zelensky also raised former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, saying "we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine."[7]
The call summary shows that the discussion then intertwined several different topics. In response to President Zelensky's statement about new personnel, President Trump and President Zelensky discussed the position of prosecutor general.[8] President Zelensky did not express any discomfort discussing the prosecutor general position. He said the new prosecutor general would be "100% my person, my candidate" and said the prosecutor would look into the matters raised by President Trump to "mak[e] sure to restore the honesty" of the investigation.[9] President Zelensky later said "we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation."[10]
In response to President Zelensky's reference to Mayor Giuliani, President Trump said Mayor Giuliani is "a highly respected man" who "very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy."[11] President Trump said that he would ask Mayor Giuliani to call President Zelensky, along with Attorney General Barr, to "get to the bottom of it."[12] President Zelensky did not express any concern about Mayor Giuliani's engagement—in fact, President Zelensky, not President Trump, first referenced Mayor Giuliani in the conversation.
- ↑ Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, supra note 15, at 3. The President's reference to "Crowdstrike" during the conversation refers to a cybersecurity firm that examined the Democratic National Committee server following intrusion by the Russian government in 2016.
- ↑ "Oversight of the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election: Former Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III": Hearing before the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 116th Cong. (2019).
- ↑ See, e.g., Adam Goldman et al., Barr assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to review origins of Russia inquiry, N.Y. Times, May 13, 2019.
- ↑ Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, supra note 15, at 3.
- ↑ Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine's ambassador: Trump's comments send wrong message to world, The Hill, Aug. 4, 2016.
- ↑ Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, supra note 15, at 3.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Id. at 3-4.
- ↑ Id. at 4.
- ↑ Id. at 5.
- ↑ Id. at 3-4.
- ↑ Id. at 4.
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