Pence's office advertises meeting with Peruvian president who resigned 3 weeks ago amid scandal

Source: The Washington Post




By John Wagner April 13 at 7:06 AM

As Vice President Pence prepared to head to Peru on Friday for the Summit of the Americas, his office advertised several events on his itinerary, including “a banquet hosted by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru.”

One problem: Kuczynski resigned more than three weeks ago after becoming ensnared in a corruption scandal involving Latin America's largest construction firm.

Kuczynski's decision came on the eve of a congressional impeachment vote. Kuczynski has continued to deny wrongdoing. But according to local media, before a closed-door congressional hearing last week, Kuczynski acknowledged a payment from an affiliate of the construction firm of nearly $700,000 in return for “verbal” products and “contacts.”

The payment took place before he became president but after he had served as prime minister and economy minister. Many Peruvians regard that as a blatant conflict of interest, and some are asking whether it may have constituted the crime of influence-peddling.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/04/13/pences-office-advertises-meeting-with-peruvian-president-who-resigned-3-weeks-ago-amid-scandal/?utm_term=.8ff177a22179&wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1