bureaucrats received praise from colleagues for openly defying the Administration's policies. Leaks of secret information became almost daily occurrence, including details about the President's sensitive conversations with foreign leaders. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice and FBI spent 22 months thoroughly investigating false allegations that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government in the 2016 election.
The evidence shows that following President Zelensky's inauguration, the three senior U.S. officials who attended his inauguration—Ambassador Kurt Volker, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, and Secretary Rick Perry—assumed responsibility for shepherding the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship. Contrary to assertions of an "irregular" foreign policy channel, all three men were senior U.S. leaders who had important official interests in Ukraine. The three men maintained regular communication with the NSC and the State Department about their work in Ukraine.
Following President Zelensky's inauguration, Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry sought to convince President Trump of Ukraine's commitment to reform. In that meeting, President Trump referenced Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had experience in Ukraine. When President Zelensky's adviser Andrey Yermak asked Ambassador Volker to connect him with Mayor Giuliani, Ambassador Volker did so because he believed it would advance U.S.-Ukrainian interests. Mayor Giuliani informed Ambassador Volker about his communications with Yermak. Volker and Yermak both have said that Mayor Giuliani did not speak on behalf of the President in these discussions.
Some pockets of the State Department and NSC grumbled that Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry had become so active in U.S-Ukraine policy. Others criticized Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's recall or fretted about Mayor Giuliani's involvement. Yet, despite these bureaucratic misgivings, there is no evidence that the involvement of Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, Secretary Perry, or Mayor Giuliani was illegal or hurt U.S. strategic interests. There is also no evidence that President Trump made this arrangement or recalled Ambassador Yovanovitch for the purpose of pressuring Ukraine to investigate the President's political rival for his benefit in the 2020 presidential election.
1. The President has broad Constitutional authority to conduct the foreign policy of the United States.
The Constitution vests the President of the United States with considerable authority over foreign policy.[1] The President is the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Armed Forces. The President has the power to make treaties with foreign nations, and he appoints and receives "Ambassadors and other public ministers."[2] The Supreme Court has explained that the Constitution gives the President "plenary and exclusive authority" over the conduct of foreign affairs.[3] The President is the "sole organ of the federal government" with respect to foreign affairs.[4]
- ↑ U.S. Const. Art. II.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 320 (1936).
- ↑ Id. Although the President makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; the President alone negotiates. Cf. H. Jefferson Powell, The President's Authority Over Foreign Affairs: An Executive Branch Perspective, 67 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 527, 546-47 (1999). Dealings with foreign nations require "caution and unity of design," which depend on the President's authority to speak with "one voice" on behalf of U.S. interests. Id. at 546.
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