Ukraine is reportedly firing the prosecutor who led the investigation into Hunter Biden's firm
Ukraine is expected to fire Kostiantyn Kulyk, the prosecutor who led the investigation into the gas company where former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden once served on the board, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Kulyk became tied up in President Trump's impeachment saga this past year when it was revealed he was connected to the Biden allegations. Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed he met with Kulyk to discuss unsubstantiated accusations of corruption against the father-son duo. Ultimately, the Trump administration's efforts to catch the Bidens red-handed led to the ongoing House impeachment inquiry into Trump's interactions with Kyiv.
But Kulyk probably isn't getting fired because of anything going on in Washington. The source told Reuters the official reason is that he skipped an exam all employees of the General Prosecutor's Office were ordered to take to keep their jobs. Kulyk wasn't the only one to bail, and several other prosecutors have been fired as a result, Reuters reports. Some reportedly refused to take the exam in protest because they believed it was part of an effort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cement power and purge prosecutors who were part of the former administration.
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There's probably a grain of truth to that reasoning, but Zelensky likely wouldn't describe it in such authoritarian language. Rather, per Reuters, the new, reform-minded regime considers a prosecutorial overhaul an essential task since the office has long been considered untrustworthy and corrupt by the Ukrainian public. Read more at Reuters.
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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.
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