Section: European Voice (EU)
Two Giuliani Ukraine associates indicted on campaign finance charges
Two foreign-born associates of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, were among those indicted on campaign finance charges made public on Thursday over alleged schemes to buy political influence on behalf of a Ukrainian government official and a Russian businessman. The Giuliani associates had been working with the former New York...
Poland’s economic miracle won’t last
WARSAW — Since coming to power in 2015, Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has captured state institutions, attacked the independence of the courts and violated the basic norms of the legislative process. Despite these controversial moves, the government has maintained a high level of support among Polish voters. In large part,...
Pompeo: US didn’t give Turkey a ‘green light’ to invade Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is defending the Trump administration’s withdrawal of military support for Kurdish forces in Syria, just as Turkey invaded the northern part of the country to push out Kurdish militias. U.S. President Donald Trump late Sunday announced a withdrawal of U.S. forces in northeastern Syria after a phone call...
‘An avoidable, unforced error’: Trump’s Ukraine trap starts worrying allies
To his allies, U.S. President Donald Trump never did anything to warrant the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election. But this is not Russia. This time, some of those same allies say, Trump brought the Ukraine investigation on himself. One said it‘s “unseemly,” while others called it a “naive” and “stupid” mistake, to ask a...
Trump impeachment tentacles ensnare a growing list of agencies
The tentacles of the Democratic impeachment investigation are extending far beyond the arms of U.S. President Donald Trump. The vice president’s office, acting chief of staff‘s office, State Department, Energy Department, Office of Management and Budget and Justice Department are among the government entities quickly finding themselves...
Pompeo defends phone call, saying Trump wanted to stop Ukrainian corruption
It wasn’t political extortion — Donald Trump was actually trying to help Ukraine fight corruption, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday of the July phone call at the center of the U.S. president’s ongoing impeachment scandal. Speaking on stage at an event in Athens, Pompeo placed the call in the context of normal...
Hungary’s new Commission pick criticized for management style
Hungary’s first European Commission nominee failed on substance. Now, his replacement faces criticism over style. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week proposed Olivér Várhelyi, currently Hungary’s ambassador to the EU, as his pick for the new Commission after the European Parliament rejected his first candidate. The...
A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms
House investigators are looking into an allegation that groups — including at least one foreign government — tried to ingratiate themselves to President Donald Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never staying in them. It’s a previously unreported part of a broader examination by the House Oversight Committee, included in the...
Ukraine’s people power problem
KYIV — Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he is “obsessed” with referendums. Among the promises Ukraine’s comedian-turned-president made before taking office was to introduce “people’s power through referendums and other forms of direct democracy.” And ahead of the parliamentary election in July, his party, Servant of the People, pledged to...
Trump grievance machine reaps millions off impeachment
Donald Trump’s campaign aides expected months ago that Democrats would try to impeach the president — and he needed a way to exploit it. So this summer, Trump 2020 officials spliced news clips of Democrats discussing impeachment into a 90-second video montage, punctuated by the president imploring supporters to help him “stop this...
