President Trump's perception of Ukraine being a corrupt country was reinforced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who made disparaging comments about the country during conversations with Trump, U.S. officials told The Washington Post.
This information was shared by George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state, during his closed-door testimony last week as part of the House impeachment inquiry against Trump, the Post reports. The officials said that Putin and Orban did not directly encourage Trump to request Ukraine launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, or push the debunked conspiracy theory that Kyiv was behind the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Instead, Trump was driven by his own belief in the conspiracy theory, also peddled by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Harry Potter is coming to TV: what we know about new HBO showThe Explainer Cillian Murphy as Voldemort? Paapa Essiedu as Snape? All the latest on the huge new series shooting in the UK this summer
-
Dairy milk, once maligned, is making a comebackUnder the Radar Sales of dairy milk were up 2% in 2024
-
6 solid travel mugs and bottles for all excursionsThe Week Recommends Stay hydrated on the go
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams casespeed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chiefSpeed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
-
Trump, Putin plan Ukraine peace talks without KyivSpeed Read President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not included
-
Elon Musk defends DOGE effort from Oval OfficeSpeed Read President Trump signed an executive order giving DOGE even more power to shape the federal workforce
-
Judge says White House defying order to spend fundsSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to restore federal funding it tried to freeze
-
Trump DOJ orders end to charges against NYC mayorSpeed Read The Justice Department has dropped charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was charged with bribery and fraud
