Former US envoy testifies to Ukraine turmoil
WASHINGTON - Top US diplomats encouraged Ukraine's newly elected president to conduct an investigation linked to Joe Biden's family in return for a high-profile visit to Washington with US President Donald Trump. Communications soon escalated into what one feared was a "crazy" swap that risked vital US military aid.
That's according to a cache of text messages released late on Thursday by House investigators following a 10-hour interview with one of the diplomats, Kurt Volker, who stepped down as US special envoy to Ukraine amid the Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
The pages lay out the raw contours of a potential quid-proquo exchange - Trump gets his political investigation of a top Democratic rival in return for some price to be paid by the new Ukraine leader - now at the heart of the House investigation.
