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I think one thing, coming after last week's decision, would be passing actually passing, not just proposing a new and better amendment to the criminal code that not only restores illicit enrichment as an anti-corruption tool but reinstates the dozens of cases that were undermined by the court decision.
Instead of annulling anti-corruption laws, there are some that believe that the Constitutional Court could focus its attention on revoking the law that requires civil society to file electronic asset declarations, which was clearly intended to undermine the effectiveness of those like media representatives who expose corruption and hold elected representatives accountable.
To ensure the integrity of anticorruption institutions, the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor must be replaced. Nobody who has been recorded coaching suspects on how to avoid corruption charges can be trusted to prosecute those very same cases.
Those responsible for corruption should be investigated, prosecuted, and if guilty, go to jail. And in order for that to happen, all of the elements of the anti-corruption architecture must be in place and must be working effectively.
Ambassador Marie (Masha) Yovanovitch, March 5, 2019
LINKWhy is that important? For several reasons.
First, embassies are not supposed to meddle in internal politics of their host countries. This was a a little over a month before the Ukrainian elections. But when it comes to the diplomatic mission in Kyiv they have often strayed well beyond the rules, Geneva Convention be damned.
But she didn't there. From the same speech:
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The High Qualifications Commission, we believe, should consider seriously questions about the integrity of judicial candidates.
We don't understand what the reason would be to appoint demonstrably flawed candidates to the country's highest court, especially when there are other qualified candidates without such concerns available.
And the Public Integrity Council must be given more power to prevent bad apples from continuing to corrupt the judiciary.
As has been so long discussed in Ukraine I mean, for decades, really MPs, who continue to enjoy immunity from prosecution, a situation that everyone recognizes is ripe for abuse, should vote to end that immunity for the next Rada.
The government of Ukraine should also immediately fund a complete audit of Ukroboronprom and declassify the State Defense Order to the maximum extent possible. This will promote transparency and fight corruption in the defense sector.
Turning a blind eye to corruption in the defense sector is taking food, medical treatment, and weapons out of the hands of Ukraine's brave soldiers. And the government should investigate and prosecute cases of corruption at Ukroboronprom and elsewhere.
Now does that make it sound as if Yovanovitch took the hands off approach as she has claimed? Or does it make it appear more likely that she did exactly what Lutsenko said she did? Tell him who he could and could not prosecute? And where is she getting her information on who is or is not a "flawed" judiciary candidate in her esteemed estimation?
Maybe she's getting her marching orders from somebody else, not Pompeo?
As John Solomon reports:
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Up to that point, I had focused months of reporting on Ukraine on the U.S. government's relationship with a Ukraine nonprofit called the AntiCorruption Action Centre, which was jointly funded by liberal megadonor George Soros' charity and the State Department. I even sent a list of questions to that nonprofit all the way back in October 2018. It never answered.
Given that Soros spent millions trying to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump in 2016, I thought it was a legitimate public policy question to ask whether a State Department that is supposed to be politically neutral should be in joint business with a partisan figure's nonprofit entity.
State officials confirmed that Soros' foundation and the U.S. embassy jointly funded the AntiCorruption Action Centre, and that Soros' vocal role in Ukraine as an anticorruption voice afforded him unique access to the State Department, including in 2016 to the top official on Ukraine policy, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. (That access was confirmed in documents later released under FOIA to Citizens United.)
Soros' representatives separately confirmed to me that the Anti-Corruption Action Centre was the leading tip of the spear for a strategy Team Soros devised in 2014 to fight corruption in Ukraine and that might open the door for his possible business investment of $1 billion. You can read the Ukraine strategy document here and Soros' plan to invest $1 billion in Ukraine here.
Much More HereJust something to chew on before she testifies tomorrow. By all means, follow all of the links Solomon provides and come to your own conclusions. But to me, Soros lurking in the background with a one billion dollar investment in Ukrainian businesses unless certain people are removed or installed with the full cooperation of this ambassador raised my eyebrows.
I'm feeling sorry for the Ukrainian people. They are caught in the middle between being under Putin's thumb or Soros'. And since when has Soros ever done something that is for the good of a country (crashing their currencies) instead of line his own pockets?
My .02, FWIW.