Russian ambassador nominee says he believes Rudy Giuliani was part of a 'campaign' against ex-Ukrainian ambassador

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan did not demur when facing what appeared to be significant line of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearing for the role of U.S. ambassador to Russia on Wednesday.
During the hearing, Sullivan admitted to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) that he was aware there was a "campaign against" former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and he believed President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was one of the people behind it.
Sullivan also told lawmakers he was aware of a packet which has previously been said to contain "propaganda" and "disinformation" targeting Yovanovitch, who was ousted in April, that was sent to the State Department, saying he didn't think it provided a "basis for us taking action against our ambassador." Still, he said he didn't, at the time, speak up in support of Yovanovitch, and instead passed the packet along to the State Department inspector general as a precaution. Sullivan told Menendez he was not aware if Giuliani was behind the packet, but his overall candidness wasn't a great look for the former New York City mayor, either way. Read more at The Hill. Tim O'Donnell
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The tiny Caribbean island sitting on a digital 'goldmine'
Under The Radar Anguilla's country-code domain name is raking in millions from a surprise windfall
-
September 7 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include stressing about Powerball, and a busy FBI schedule
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?
Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play