President Donald Trump may have instructed his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to conduct foreign policy on his behalf, but State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent said that Giuliani made things worse.
According to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Kent testified behind closed doors that Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine "undermined 28 years of US efforts to try to promote the rule of law in Ukraine."
During a May meeting organized by Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, State Department officials and other White House advisers were told that three people would be responsible for Ukraine policy, Kent testified.
Former Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Energy Secretary Rick Perry were the only government point people for Ukraine issues.
"Kent told lawmakers he was responsible for six countries, including Ukraine," CNN reported. "After he was warned to lie low, he said, he took time off to attend his daughter's wedding and go hiking in Maine, according to Connolly. When he returned, he said, he focused on the other countries."
Kent was one of the State Department officials who tried to defend former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from the disinformation campaign to take her down this spring, CNN reported, citing internal emails given to Congress in October.