Diplomat who tried to quash smear campaign against colleague to testify in Trump impeachment inquir

Last edited Sat Oct 26, 2019, 11:40 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post

By
Carol Morello

Philip Reeker, a senior State Department official who tried to counteract a campaign of falsehoods that undermined the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, is expected to testify before House impeachment investigators Saturday.

Reeker, who heads the team of diplomats specializing in European affairs, is the latest Trump administration official scheduled to appear behind closed doors despite a White House edict that no government employees cooperate. Based on previously released accounts, he can be expected to provide a limited but critical piece of the back story involving an informal endeavor to prod Ukrainian officials to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

In March, Reeker was selected as acting assistant secretary in charge of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. As head of the bureau that dealt with Ukraine, Reeker was nominally in charge of policy for the country. In reality, the policy was being steered by political appointees and by Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, according to previous testimony given during the impeachment probe.

A crisis was already brewing, in the form of rumors and conspiracy theories targeting Marie Yovanovitch, many being pushed by Giuliani. Highly regarded among her fellow diplomats, Yovanovitch was then the U.S. ambassador in Kyiv. State Department officials considered baseless the roiling questions being raised among conservative U.S. media about her loyalty and honesty. They began suggesting ways to defend her, both internally and publicly.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/diplomat-who-tried-to-squash-smear-campaign-against-colleague-to-testify-in-trump-impeachment-inquiry/2019/10/25/9b8361c0-f74a-11e9-ad8b-85e2aa00b5ce_story.html