Rudy Giuliani was given direct access to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a shadow effort to smear the American ambassador to Ukraine and dig up dirt on Democrats unfolded, a trove of newly released government documents revealed.
Pompeo talked with Giuliani on March 26 and March 29 as President Trump's personal lawyer worked to undermine then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, according to the State Department documents, which were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The documents do not reveal what Giuliani and Pompeo discussed, limiting their importance. But they do show that Trump's personal secretary facilitated the calls, suggesting Giuliani had the president's backing to bring Pompeo into his plans.
Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, the group that obtained the documents, said they show "a clear paper trail from Rudy Giuliani to the Oval Office to Secretary Pompeo."
Last week, Yovanovitch told House impeachment investigators she felt "kneecapped" by a "smear campaign" Giuliani led against her. She was ousted from her post in Ukraine in May.
The documents released late Friday also include a report that appears to summarize a Jan. 23, 2019, interview with Ukraine's former prosecutor general, Victor Shokin. The summary says Giuliani and two business associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were present.
Parnas and Fruman were arrested last month on a four-count indictment that includes charges of conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and falsification of records. The men had key roles in Giuliani's efforts to launch a Ukrainian corruption investigation against Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
In the document, Shokin claims he was removed from his position under pressure from Biden.
A second memo appears to be a summary of an interview with Yuri Lutsenko, also a former prosecutor general of Ukraine, conducted in the presence of Giuliani, Parnas and Fruman. Lutsenko is quoted as raising questions about compensation that Hunter Biden received from the Ukrainian oil company Burisma.
