Rick Perry tells Trump he's resigning shortly after he gets caught up in Ukraine scandal

Energy Secretary Rick Perry formally announced his resignation after teasing that he would be leaving the administration for a while.

Perry has been caught up President Donald Trump's Ukraine scandal. Namely, Perry revealed that the president directed him to discuss all Ukraine issues with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

At least one piece of the scandal deals with former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) as well as other officials that deal with energy issues in Texas.

At a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Perry confessed to making the recommendations to Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas company, Naftogaz, to hire new management and board. But Perry said he did so only at the request of the Ukrainian government.

Two of the people Perry recommended for the gas company were major donors of his in Texas.

Perry substituted for Vice President Mike Pence, attending the inauguration of Ukraine President Zelensky when he was elected. It served as a notice to Zelensky that he needed to "play ball" with the Trump team if he intended to gain their support. Such support included $400 million in congressionally-approved military aid. Ukraine is fighting Russia, which illegally annexed Crimea, a portion of Ukraine.

He was also lumped in as “one of the administration’s ‘three amigos‘ on Ukrainian policy, along with Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative for the Ukraine conflict, and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.”