WASHINGTON _ Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Monday acknowledged that he asked President Donald Trump "multiple times" to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy _ but not about former Vice President Joe Biden, the topic that has caught Trump in an impeachment inquiry.
The former Texas governor said at a news conference in Lithuania that he encouraged Trump to speak to the Ukrainian leader about energy, according to CNN and Politico.
"Absolutely, I asked the president multiple times: 'Mr. President, we think it is in the United States' and in Ukraine's best interest that you and the president of Ukraine have conversations and discuss the options that are there,'" he said . "So absolutely yes."
His account appears to confirm an Axios report from Saturday that Trump told House Republicans that he called Zelenskiy at Perry's urging to discuss liquefied natural gas.
Perry has indeed worked on issues related to liquefied natural gas in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, adding plausibility to the request. But Trump never brought up the topic on his call with Zelenskiy, according to rough transcript provided by the White House.
The insight from Perry adds another layer to the growing Ukraine drama.
While Perry hasn't been accused of wrongdoing, the Texan has been thrust in recent days into the controversy surrounding Trump's pressuring of Ukraine to investigate Biden, a Democratic presidential contender, over Biden's son's business dealings in the country.
The energy chief, who has general avoided the spotlight in D.C., was given passing reference in the whistleblower complaint over Trump's interactions with Ukraine because he subbed in for Vice President Mike Pence at Zelenskiy's inauguration in May.
Democrats have also requested documents involving Perry as part of their probes, and Perry has said he will comply with those inquiries.
The Texan's relationship with Ukraine took on an another dimension late Sunday as Politico and The Associated Press reported that Perry urged Ukranian officials to put two Texas businessmen on the supervisory board of Naftogaz, a Ukrainian state-owned energy company.
That push came as Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who spearheaded the Biden investigation, was also seeking to shape the Naftogaz board, according to AP, though it's unclear if those efforts were related.
Perry on Monday denied that he pressured Ukrainian leaders to put the businessmen _ one of whom had donated to his past campaigns _ on Naftogaz's board. He said he was merely making recommendations at the request of the Ukrainian government.
"The idea that the AP story basically said that we said, 'You put these people on there,' is just not correct," he said, according to Politico. "That was a totally dreamed-up story, best I can tell. We gave recommendations at the request of the Ukrainian government and will continue to."
Perry said he couldn't remember if his suggestions included Michael Bleyzer, the Ukrainian-American businessman who lives in Texas and once donated to his gubernatorial campaign. But he said he wouldn't hesitate to make that recommendation.
"He's a really brilliant, capable businessman who I would recommend ... for a host of different things in Kyiv," Perry said at the news conference, per Politico. "He knows the country. He's from there. So, why not?"
The scrutiny around Perry and Ukraine also came as multiple media outlets reported that the Texan will retire from his post as energy secretary by the end of the year. But Perry on Monday pushed back on that idea.
"I'm here. I'm serving," he said, according to Politico. "They've been writing the story that I was leaving the Department of Energy for at least nine months now. One of these days they'll probably get it right. But it's not today. It's not tomorrow. It's not next month."
