Earl Matthews attended meetings with Ukrainian officials now at the center of the congressional impeachment inquiry.
Earl Matthews, a senior National Security Council official who attended several of the meetings now at the center of the congressional impeachment inquiry, will depart from his job on Friday, according to two people familiar with his plans.
During his time on the NSC, Matthews, the senior director for defense policy and strategy and one of the highest ranking African-American members of the Trump White House, worked closely with former national security advisor John Bolton. He was part of a small group that sat in on meetings with Ukrainian officials that House Democrats are now scrutinizing as they investigate whether President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate a political rival.
Matthews traveled with Bolton to Ukraine in August and Poland in September, where he sat in on meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior American officials. The meetings included figures like William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and senior NSC Russia expert Tim Morrison, who have been called up to Capitol Hill to testify about whether they believed Trump and his allies were conditioning security aid and other political favors on Ukraine opening politically advantageous investigations.
During the Poland trip, Matthews was also in a meeting between Zelensky and Vice President Mike Pence, who was filling in for Trump after the president called off his trip to monitor potential hurricane damages in the U.S.
Still, Matthews has not been pulled into the Democrats’ impeachment probe, according to an administration official.
……..
- Discussion
-
Earl Matthews, a senior National Security Council official who attended several of the meetings now at the center of the congressional impeachment inquiry, will depart from his job on Friday https://t.co/Qpxm4swgvo
— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2019
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.