The House Oversight Committee is investigating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania, the latest step by Republicans, who have alleged the trip was “politically motivated.”
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Wednesday that the body would look into the use of taxpayer-funded resources to bring Zelensky to the factory in the Keystone State ahead of a contentious presidential race between Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Comer’s statement referenced the first impeachment of Trump by the Democratic-controlled House in 2019 for his conduct involving Zelensky “under the theory that he attempted to use a foreign leader” to benefit his 2020 campaign.
“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 said. “The Committee seeks to determine whether the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign and, if so, necessarily committed an abuse of power.”
The Oversight Committee’s investigation comes after the Washington Examiner exclusively reported that nine House Republicans led by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) sent a letter to the Justice and Defense Departments demanding information on whether Zelensky’s visit was “politically motivated” and paid for by U.S. taxpayer dollars in violation of federal law.
The requests from both groups came a few days after Zelensky had interviewed the New Yorker and suggested that a Trump-Vance administration could lead to “global conflict.” The interview prompted severe criticism from GOP lawmakers who called it a “stump speech” for Harris.
“This rhetoric coming from a foreign leader released in anticipation of a U.S.-taxpayer-funded visit about the current Administration’s political opponent is highly concerning,” Comer said. “The Committee is investigating any coordination or communication among the Biden-Harris Administration, Pennsylvania’s Office of the Governor, and President Zelensky for use or solicitation of use of government property to politically benefit Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign.”
The committee sent letters to White House counsel Edward Siskel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. In the letter to Siskel, Comer said the “apparent campaign event” may have resulted in the “potential interference in a federal election.”
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Comer is requesting any information, both internal and external, regarding Zelensky’s visit to the United States to be delivered to the committee no later than Oct. 2.
The House will vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government on Wednesday and then recess until after the 2024 election, meaning that any Oversight Committee public hearings on Zelensky’s visit and its possible interference in the presidential race would not occur until after it was over.