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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 22, 2024.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters
House Oversight Chair James Comer is opening an investigation into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Sunday visit to an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Comer claims that the trip was organized to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for presidency, and was done using "taxpayer-funded resources."
The Republican investigation comes as the relationship between Zelenskyy and former president Donald Trump seems to sour.
On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelenskyy of insulting him — Trump said the Ukrainian president was "making nasty little dispersions toward" him — and adding that he got along with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very well."
"There's really nothing for the Ukrainian people to go back to, and it didn't need to happen. Those buildings are down, those cities are gone. They're gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal," Trump said of Zelenskyy while speaking at a plumbing parts manufacturer in Mint Hill, North Carolina.
Zelenskyy is in the United States to attend the UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, where he is meeting with world leaders. He also plans to visit the White House on Thursday, where he will meet with President Joe Biden and, later in the day, with Harris.
Trump was expected to meet with the Ukrainian President on Thursday at Trump Tower, but a Trump campaign official told NBC News Wednesday that the meeting was not happening. When asked why, a source familiar with the matter pointed to Zelenskyy's New Yorker interview.
In an interview published Sunday by the New Yorker, Zelenskyy said that Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance was "too radical" and his message "seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice," in ending the war with Russia.
When asked if Ukraine should cede land in exchange for a ceasefire with Russia in a press conference Wednesday, Vance said "everything is going to be on the table."
Comer's letter also criticized the timing of the visit with the publishing of Zelenskyy's comments regarding Trump's running mate.
The ammunition factory that Zelenskyy visited is operated by General Dynamics and manufactures components for 155 mm artillery shells, a crucial piece of ammunition to Ukraine's battle efforts.The United States had shipped more than 3 million rounds of it to Ukraine since February 2022, according to a Pentagon fact sheet from July 2024
On Wednesday, the Defense Department announced additional security assistance of $375 million for Ukraine, including more of the 155 mm artillery shells that the Scranton factory specializes in manufacturing.
"I began my visit to the United States by expressing my gratitude to all the employees at the plant and by reaching agreements to expand cooperation between Pennsylvania and our Zaporizhzhia," Zelenskyy wrote on X Sunday.
There, Zelenskyy also met with three Pennsylvania Democrats; Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey and Rep. Matt Cartwright. Both Casey and Cartwright are up for reelection in November.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 23, 2024.
Caitlin Ochs | Reuters
"The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant is playing a critical role bolstering Ukraine's forces, and I was honored to join President Zelenskyy to thank Pennsylvania workers for helping defend democracy. Attempts to smear his visit to our Commonwealth are an insult and a disgrace," Sen. Casey said in a statement to CNBC.
Spokespeople for the governor's office and Cartwright's campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the investigation.
"In 2019, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives impeached President Donald J. Trump for abuse of power under the theory that he attempted to use a foreign leader—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—to benefit his 2020 presidential campaign, despite a lack of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of President Trump," Chairman Comer wrote in a press release Wednesday.
A 30-minute phone call between then-president Trump and Zelenskyy in 2019, where the former president asked Zelenskyy to investigate the activities of his then rival President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, was a part of the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
"The Biden-Harris Administration recently flew the same foreign leader—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—on an American-taxpayer-funded flight to Pennsylvania, a battleground state in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, which has been described as the 'trickiest battleground for Vice President Kamala Harris to win," Comer continued.
Comer sought more information on government resources used for and all internal and external communications regarding the trip in letters sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland and White House Counsel Edward Siskel.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also sent a sternly worded letter about the Pennsylvania trip Wednesday. Johnson wrote directly to Zelenskyy, and asked the wartime leader to recall Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, who helped organize the visit to Scranton.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol on September 17, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
"The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference," Johnson wrote. "This shortsighted and intentionally political move has caused Republicans to lose trust in Ambassador Markarova's ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country."
Comer's investigation comes a day after nine House Republicans signed a letter sent to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch, demanding "a full investigation into the use of U.S. military assets and federal resources in relation to the visit."
In the letter, the Republicans posit that Zelenskyy may have flown into Scranton on a U.S. Air Force aircraft and provided Secret Service protection.
Trump's position on the war in Ukraine, and America's role in it, has been a source of controversy on the campaign trail and drawn criticism from both Democrats and from some Republicans. Several Republicans have cited Trump's ambivalence about U.S. support for Ukraine as one of the reasons they endorsed Harris over him.
By contrast, Biden reiterated his administration's support for Ukraine Wednesday, adding that he will announce additional "series of actions to accelerate support for Ukraine's military" on Thursday.
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