Ukrainian Journalist Called for Police Questioning Over Inquiry into MP’s Connection with Giuliani

08 May 2020 21:06

Ukrainian police have summoned the editor—in—chief of a journalistic investigation agencyas a witness. The reason being her request for information to a Servant of the People MP about his connections with Rudy Giuliani.

Ukrainian police have summoned the editor-in-chief of a journalistic investigation agency as a witness. The reason being her request for information to a Servant of the People MP about his connections with Rudy Giuliani.

The corresponding letter was received by Slidstvo.info.

The summons addressed to Anna Babinets states that it is related to the case under Part 2 of Article 163 (Violation of the secrecy of correspondence, telephone conversations, telegraph or other correspondence transmitted by means of communication or computer) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

This document was signed by an investigator from the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, Ilmira Cherednyk. The editorial office received another letter with questions to Slidstvo.info also signed by her.

"These questions relate to a request for information sent by the Slidstvo.info agency to MP Oleksandr Dubinsky in December 2019. They referred to his possible meetings with defendants in the case of the impeachment of the U.S. President Donald Trump. In particular, about possible contacts with [Donald Trump's lawyer] Rudolph Giuliani," the agency writes.

Although the summons does not state the reason for the call, Babinets herself is convinced that it is due to a request to Dubinsky.

"In the 17 years I have been working as a journalist, I have never been interrogated by the police for writing a request to an MP. But I will definitely go with a lawyer. We will film everything and show how the Main Investigation Department investigates such high-profile cases as a request to MP Oleksandr Dubinsky and interrogates investigative journalists because of it," she said.

In early March, Slidstvo.info reported pressure from the Interior Ministry because police had opened a case over alleged surveillance of American officials.

The request for information followed Dubinsky’s meeting with Giuliani in early December 2019. According to the deputy, the two men discussed the creation of a commission of inquiry in the parliament that would "investigate the theft of billions from the Ukrainian budget under Presidents Petro Poroshenko and Viktor Yanukovych."

Giuliani has been called the informal leader of the Ukrainian vector of American foreign policy, which aims to get the Ukrainian government to probe into Joe Biden, Trump's rival in the upcoming presidential election.

It was because of this that impeachment proceedings were initiated against Trump in the U.S. As a result, the case went to a vote in Congress, but the majority-Republican Senate refused to remove Trump from office.