Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/483

 Ambassador Volker testified: "When I say official request, I mean law enforcement channels, Department of Justice to law enforcement in Ukraine, please investigate was there any effort to interfere in the U.S. elections."$810$ Ambassador Volker explained:

"He [Yermak] said, and I think quite appropriately, that if they [Ukraine] are responding to an official request, that's one thing. If there's no official request, that's different. And I agree with that.$811$"

According to Ambassador Volker, he was merely trying to "find out" if there was ever an official request made by the Department of Justice: "As I found out the answer that we had not, I said, well, let's just not go there."$812$

On September 25, within hours of the White House's public release of the record of the July 25 call between President Trump and President Zelensky, a Justice Department spokesperson issued a statement, apparently confirming that no such formal request had been made:

"The President has not spoken with the Attorney General about having Ukraine investigate anything relating to former Vice President Biden or his son. The President has not asked the Attorney General to contact Ukraine—on this or any other matter. The Attorney General has not communicated with Ukraine—on this or any other subject.$813$"

Ukraine's current Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who assumed his new position in late August 2019, confirmed the Justice Department's account. He told the Financial Times in late November 2019 that Attorney General Barr had made no formal request regarding a potential investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by former Vice President Biden.$814$ In an apparent reference to President Trump's demand that Ukraine interfere in U.S. elections, Mr. Ryaboshapka added: "It's critically important for the west not to pull us into some conflicts between their ruling elites, but to continue to support so that we can cross the point of no return."$815$

Neither Ambassador Taylor in Ukraine nor Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent in Washington were aware of the efforts by Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, in coordination with Mr. Giuliani, to convince Ukrainian officials to issue a statement in real time. Ambassador Taylor told the Committees that, on August 16, in a text message exchange with Ambassador Volker, he "learned that Mr. Yermak had asked that the United States submit an official request for an investigation into Burisma's alleged violations of Ukrainian law, if that is what the United States desired."$816$ Ambassador Taylor noted that "a formal U.S. request to the Ukrainians to conduct an investigation based on violations of their own law" was "improper" and advised Ambassador Volker to "stay clear."$817$

Nevertheless, Ambassador Volker requested Ambassador Taylor's help with the matter.$818$ "To find out the legal aspects of the question," Ambassador Taylor gave Ambassador Volker the name of an official at the Department of Justice "whom I thought would be the proper point of contact for seeking a U.S. referral for a foreign investigation."$819$