what countries asked for ukraine attorney general to be removed?

Is the General Prosecutor’s office a brake on criminal justice reform in Ukraine?

Oct 22, 2020 · Joe Biden leveraged aid to remove top prosecutor as part anti-corruption efforts. It's true that Joe Biden leveraged $1 billion in aid to …

Will Attorney-General help Indian students stuck at Ukrainian border?

“The United States, the European Union, the I.M.F., and Ukraine’s leading reform figures were all pressing for Viktor Shokin to be removed from office because he was one of the biggest obstacles to fighting corruption in the entire country,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates told HuffPost in a statement.

Did Biden remove Ukraine’s Procurator General Shokin?

Oct 03, 2019 · At one point, Biden withheld $1 billion in aid to Ukraine to pressure the government to remove Shokin from the Prosecutor General's Office. Trump and …

Did a 2016 letter endorse bipartisan support for Ukraine's Prosecution Office reforms?

Sep 24, 2019 · KYIV -- When Viktor Shokin was fired as Ukraine's prosecutor-general in March 2016, after less than 14 months in the post, it was seen as a crucial development in a country under pressure to curb ...

Who investigated Burisma?

Shokin's office had investigated Burisma, but the probe focused on a period before Hunter Biden joined the company, according to the anti-corruption bureau. The investigation dealt with the Ministry of Ecology, which allegedly granted special permits to Burisma between 2010 and 2012, the agency said.

What happens if the prosecutor is not fired?

If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch. He got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time," he said. Pifer, who also oversaw diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine under President George W. Bush, said it was appropriate for Biden to use U.S. aid as leverage.

Why did Biden fire the prosecutor?

At the heart of Congress' probe into the president's actions is his claim that former Vice President and 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden strong-armed the Ukrainian government to fire its top prosecutor in order to thwart an investigation into a company tied to his son, Hunter Biden.

Who is the owner of Burisma?

Trump and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani claim Biden did this to quash Shokin's investigation into Ukraine's largest gas company, Burisma Holdings, and its owner, oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky. They say this benefited Biden's son, Hunter Biden, who served on Burisma's board of directors – for which he was paid $50,000 a month.

What did Biden say about corruption?

In December 2015, Biden railed against the "cancer of corrupt ion" in a speech before the country's parliament and called out Shokin's office. Besides Biden's threat over the $1 billion in aid, the International Monetary Fund threatened to delay $40 billion in aid for similar reasons.

Did Biden take an interest in Ukraine?

Biden took an interest in Ukraine, said Steven Pifer, a William J. Perry fellow at Stanford University and former ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton. "You saw the vice president begin to emerge as really sort of the senior policy lead on Ukraine," Pifer said. "It's good to have attention at that level.".

Was Shokin fired?

Without pressure from Joe Biden, European diplomats, the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations, Shokin would not have been fired , said Daria Kaleniuk, co-founder and executive director of the Anti Corruption Action Centre in Kiev.

What did Biden say about Ukraine?

At an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in 2018, Biden seemed to boast about it, saying that during a visit to Kyiv -- likely in December 2015 -- he told Ukrainian officials: "We're leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor's not fired, you're not getting the money.". "Well, son of a bitch," Biden continued.

When was Shokin fired?

KYIV -- When Viktor Shokin was fired as Ukraine's prosecutor-general in March 2016, after less than 14 months in the post, it was seen as a crucial development in a country under pressure to curb corruption and get serious about reforms.

Why did Trump call Zelensky?

Trump called Zelensky on July 25 to congratulate the new president of Ukraine on his election. In remarks to reporters in Houston, Trump described his conversation with the Ukrainian president as “perfect.”. He then went on to twist the facts surrounding the removal of Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, in 2016.

Did Hunter Biden violate Ukrainian law?

However, there is no evidence that Hunter Biden was ever under investigation or that his father pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin on his behalf. In May, Lutsenko, then-Ukraine’s prosecutor general, told Bloomberg News: “Hunter Biden did not violate any Ukrainian laws — at least as of now, we do not see any wrongdoing.”.

Is Hunter Biden a board member?

At the time, however, news organizations were also reporting that Biden’s anti-corruption message in Kyiv was being undermined by an appearance of a conflict of interest. In May 2014, Hunter Biden became a board member for the Burisma Group, one of the biggest private gas companies in Ukraine.

Did Biden threaten Ukraine?

President Donald Trump once again twisted the facts to claim that Joe Biden, as vice president, threatened to withhold “billions of dollars to Ukraine” unless it removed the prosecutor general who “was prosecuting” Biden’s son, Hunter. In May, Ukraine’s top prosecutor at the time said the younger Biden — a former board member for ...

Who is the new prosecutor in Ukraine?

In 2015, Ukraine appointed Viktor Shokin as their new prosecutor. His removal in 2016 is at the center of the bribery allegations. 2. Biden Admitted that he Threatened to Withhold Loan Guarantees from Ukraine Unless Shokin was Fired.

Who was the ambassador to Ukraine?

Steven Pifer, a career foreign service officer who was ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton, told Politifact that “”virtually everyone” he knew in the U.S. government and virtually all non-governmental experts on Ukraine “felt that Shokin was not doing his job and should be fired.

Who is the former mayor of New York?

Updated Sep 22, 2019 at 8:09am. President Trump and his allies have been trying to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden for his role in what Rudy Giuliani called a “massive bribery scheme.”. Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and Donald Trump’s attorney, appeared on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” in a bizarre interview where he denied asking ...

Who is the acting director of National Intelligence?

This new revelation happened amidst a standoff between Congress and acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire who has refused to turn over a whistleblower complaint to the House Intelligence Committee. Maguire is scheduled to appear before the committee next week.

Who owns Burisma?

Burisma was owned by Mykola Zlochevsky, a minister who went into exile after a popular revolution removed President Viktor F. Yanukovych. With Yanukovych gone, Zlochevsky faced numerous corruption investigations involving Burisma Holdings. In 2015, Ukraine appointed Viktor Shokin as their new prosecutor.

Did Biden talk to his son about his role on the board?

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign told Politifact that he “learned about his son’s role on the board through media reports and never discussed anything related to this company with his son.”