Trump-Ukraine scandal: US special envoy Kurt Volker reportedly steps down as crisis widens

Volker had helped organise a meeting between the US president’s personal lawyer and a Ukraine presidential aide, it emerged this week

He was also mentioned in the recently revealed whistle-blower complaint as helping Ukraine’s president ‘navigate’ Trump’s demands

Reading Time:3 minutes

Kurt Volker, the US special envoy for Ukraine who has reportedly resigned. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:25am, 28 Sep 2019Updated: 2:55am, 24 Oct 2019

Kurt Volker, the US special envoy for Ukraine, has become the first casualty in the rapidly growing impeachment crisis surrounding Donald Trump, with multiple reports that he has resigned from his post.

Volker was due to appear before congressional committees and was mentioned in the whistle-blower complaint as helping Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky “navigate” Trump’s demands.

The news, first reported in an Arizona student newspaper, the State Press, emerged late on Friday, hours after Congress issued a subpoena to the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to hand over documents related to contacts the president and his lawyer had with the Ukrainian government.

It emerged this week that Volker had helped organise a meeting between Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and a Ukraine presidential aide. Giuliani was trying to convince Zelenskiy’s government to investigate of the son of Joe Biden, Trump’s possible opponent in next year’s elections.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer. Photo: Reuters

With impeachment proceedings against Trump under way, further reports emerged of White House efforts to limit access to transcripts of conversations with other countries. Trump’s phone calls with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian president Vladimir Putin were also tightly restricted, according to former administration officials quoted by CNN.