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Heres where it is getting prickly for Donald Trump. J.D. Gordon did an interview with CNN reporter Jim Acosta and Gordons comments directly contradict Donald Trumps statementin that Stephanopoulosinterview:

Gordon's remarks represent a dramatic shift from previous comments, and they come as Attorney General Jeff Sessions faces intensescrutiny over two previously undisclosed meetingswith Russia's ambassador to the US one of which was timed to the convention.

In January, Gordon told Business Insider that he "never left" his "assigned side table" nor spoke publicly at the GOP national security subcommittee meeting, where the amendment which originally called for "providing lethal defense weapons" to the Ukrainian army to fend off Russian-backed separatists was read aloud, debated, and ultimately watered down to "providing appropriate assistance" to Ukraine.

According to CNN's Jim Acosta, however, Gordon said that at the RNC he and others "advocated for the GOP platform to include language against arming Ukrainians against pro-Russian rebels" because "this was in line with Trump's views, expressed at a March national security meeting at the unfinished Trump hotel" in Washington, DC.

"Gordon says Trump said at the meeting ... that he didn't want to go to 'World War Three' over Ukraine," Acosta said.

Emphasis added. They were directed to do so at a meeting with Donald Trump himself. And who presided over that meeting? Attorney General Jeff Sessions:

Well, well, well. And while Gordon denied the Russians did anything in return, it cannot go unnoticed that the very same week all this went down, Wikileaks released the Russian hacked DNC emails.

See Jim Acostas excellent report below:

Excerpt from:
Campaign adviser changes story and now contradicts Trump, says Donald ordered Ukraine change at RNC - Daily Kos

120 troops from 3rd Canadian Division deploy to Ukraine as part of Operation Unifier, at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. David Bloom / Postmedia

With the hum of the Airbus CC-150 engines in the background, 3rdCanadian Division commander Brig.-Gen.f Simon Hetherington reminded troops deploying to Ukraine on Friday of the importance of their training mission.

The 120 Edmonton-based soldiers will spend the next six months in the west of the country training Ukrainian soldiers in preparation for their fight against Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country as part of a conflict that has been raging since the middle of 2014.

What skills youve supplied them with will save their lives, Hetherington said just before the troops boarded the plane.

Brig.-Gen. Simon Hetherington speaks to 120 troops from 3rd Canadian Division as they prepare to deploy toUkraine as part of Operation Unifier, at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. Photo by David Bloom David Bloom / Postmedia

Around 2,600 Ukrainian troops have rotated through atraining program designed to professionalize the Ukrainian armed forces and enhance their capabilities across a wide spectrum of operations, including everything from weapons training to combat first aid and communications.

Hetherington said the mission is incredibly important.

Theyve got an armed forces that has been decimated over a number of years of neglect in terms of funding and age and time, so we are helping rebuild their armed forces, he said.

The challenge to this is they are rebuilding it while in combat in the east of the country.

Outbound deputy commanding officer Maj. Alex Nitu said the aim of the mission is to enable the Ukrainian military to become self-sufficient in delivering its own training programs.

Nitu said the mission is being well-received by the Ukrainian military.

The idea is we are going to work ourselves out of a job in all these things because they are going to become self-sufficient, he said.

(We are) building skill sets and professionalizing their force and getting to a point where they are institutionally capable of delivering all the training they require to themselves.

jgraney@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jurisgraney

A soldier from 3rd Canadian Division waits to leave forUkraine as part of Operation Unifier, at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. 120 soldiers from 3rd Canadian Division left for the Ukraine Friday. David Bloom / Postmedia

Soldiers from 3rd Canadian Division wait to deploy toUkraine as part of Operation Unifier, at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. David Bloom / Postmedia

Brig.-Gen. Simon Hetherington, right, shakes hands with 120 troops from 3rd Canadian Division at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. David Bloom / Postmedia

120 troops from 3rd Canadian Division deploy toUkraine as part of Operation Unifier, at the Edmonton International Airport Friday, March 3, 2017. David Bloom / Postmedia

Read the original here:
New wave of Edmonton-based troops deploy to Ukraine as forces battle pro-Russia separatists - Edmonton Journal

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Ukraine on Friday urged lawmakers to battle endemic corruption, tying the issue to the country's economic development and conflict with Russian-backed rebels.

"It is an important task in your land to ensure the reform process is successful," Gabriel told a group of parliamentarians in the capital Kyiv. "The strongest weapon of democracy is not the military; rather it is to show that people in democracies live better than those in countries without it."

Children must have a bright future, pensioners must be secure and infrastructure built, he said. "That is the biggest danger to foreign aggressors, that the country is well-developed," Gabriel said.

Germans want to help Ukraine, but Gabriel said they also want to ensure that money reaches the people and isn't frittered away through corruption.

Ukraine has struggled to pass a series of structural reforms and tackle corruption, prompting the International Monetary Fund to delay payments of a $17.5 billion (16.6 billion euro) rescue package.

The slow pace of reform and continued corruption have hampered the war effort and undermined efforts to accelerate thepolitical process to end nearly three years of conflict with Russia-backed separatists that has claimed some 10,000 lives and displaced tens of thousands.

Gabriel said it was important to first ensure a sustainable ceasefire in the east and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line as agreed under the Minsk agreements.

"Then the moment will arrive, when one can create the hope for a political process," Gabriel said. "We know who the aggressor is. We know who broke international law. And we know it isn't only about the conflict in Ukraine," he said, hinting at Russia's broader geopolitical goals.

Gabriel's visit came as Ukrainian authorities announced that the head of the country's tax and customs service was suspected in a graft case that cost the state $75 million (71 million euros).

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said Roman Nasirov was suspected of "abuse of office, which resulted in grievous harm" to the state. He has been removed from his position as tax boss as an investigation continues.

Investigators believe Nasirov helped parliamentarian Oleksandr Onishchenko by restricting taxes on gas extraction companies. Onishchenko is currently on the run.

Masked anti-graft agents gave Nasirov the official notice naming him as a suspect at a hospital where he has been after claiming heart complications, the same day his office was raided.

"I, like many Ukrainian citizens, have doubts about the unexpected transfer to hospital, as this has become a historic tradition for the Ukrainian political elite and top management," anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky said.

If convicted, Nasirov would be the first high level official to be prosecuted for graft since the 2014 pro-Western uprising that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych.

cw/msh(AFP, dpa, Reuters)

See original here:
Germany warns Ukraine over graft - Deutsche Welle

Donald Trump appears to have pushed for the Republicans to adopt a pro-Moscow policy over Ukraine just as his senior aides with meeting with Russias US Ambassador.

At the Republican National Convention last summer, the party agreed to insert language into its platform that opposed arming or providing Ukraine with weapons to take on pro-Russian rebels. At the time, Mr Trump told an interviewer he wasnt involved in it.

But now, a former adviser to Mr Trumphas revealed that the push to change the platform came after the direct intervention of the New York tycoon. Mr Trump had hinted as to his views on Ukraine during a speech in the spring of 2016, where the Russian Ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, was among the guests.

CNN said that Republican advisor JD Gordon had said the move to push the change in the partys policy was to make it align with Mr Trumps personal views.

Mr Gordon previously said that he did not speak publicly at the GOP national security sub-committee meeting, where the amendment was discussed. Originally the policy called for providing lethal defence weapons to the Ukrainian army to fend off Russian-backed rebels. It was changed to providing appropriate assistance to Ukraine.

The broadcaster said that Mr Gordon had now revealed that he and others advocated for the GOP platform to include language against arming Ukrainians against pro-Russian rebels because this was in line with Trump's views.

Gordon says Trump said at the meetingthat he didnt want to go to World War Three over Ukraine, CNN said.

Trump says he still has 'total' confidence in Jeff Sessions

Mr Gordon also confirmed that he and another policy advisor to Mr Trump, Carter Page, met Mr Kislyak at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland last July. Mr Gordon did not respond to inquiries on Friday.

The development comes as Mr Trumps administration is facing further scrutiny over its alleged links to Russia.

This week, Mr Trumps Attorney General was forced to recuse himself from overseeing the federal inquiry into Russsias alleged interference in the US election and its possible links to members of Mr Triumps team, after it emerged he had twice met with Mr Kislyak. He had previously told senators while under oath that he had never done so. One of the meeting was at the RNC.

It also emerged that two other senior members of Mr Trumps team, former general Mike Flynn and policy adviser Jared Kushner, had met Mr Kislyak in December to establish initial contacts with the Russian government. Mr Flynn was in January forced to resign as his national security adviser after he lied about a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak - prior to Mr Trumps taking office - at which the issue of sanctions was discussed.

Mr Trump has never hidden his wish to try and reset the US-Russia relationship.

At the speech he delivered at Washington DCs Mayflower Hotel in April, Mr Trump said: I believe an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia- from a position of strength only - is possible, absolutely possible. Some say the Russians wont be reasonable. I intend to find out.

Yet after the Republican position on Ukraine was changed that summer, Mr Trump he claimed he had nothing to do with it.

I wasn't involved in that, Mr Trump said in an interview with ABC. Honestly, I was not involved.

Several investigations are underway into Russias alleged interference in the 2016 election - an operation supposedly undertaken to benefit Mr Trump. Mr Trump has repeatedly denied that either he or any members of his team have had any contact with Russia, or colluded in anyway in its efforts to influence the election.

An unverified dossier presented to Trump in January by top US intelligence officials allegedthat Mr Trump agreed to sideline the issue of Russian intervention in Ukraine during his campaign after Russia promised to feed the emails it stole from prominent Democrats inboxes to WikiLeaks.

See the rest here:
Republicans adopted pro-Russia stance on Ukraine just after Trump officials met with Russian ambassador - The Independent

KYIV -- Ukraines tax and customs service chief has been suspended from his post amid a graft investigation that marks a rare attempt to prosecute a senior official on suspicion of corruption.

The government said on March 3 that State Fiscal Service (DFS) Director Roman Nasirov has been temporarily relieved of his duties.

Meanwhile, a special prosecutor tasked with fighting corruption said he will seek Nasirov's arrest on suspicion of "abuse of office leading to serious financial losses," voicing concern that he could try to flee the country.

The moves came a day after the National Anticorruption Bureau (NABU) said it attempted to serve Nasirov, who was in a Kyiv hospital, with a document identifying him as a suspect.

Minutes later, Nasirov was transferred to an intensive care unit after suffering what a doctor said was a heart attack.

WATCH: Ukraine Tax Chief Falls Ill As He Faces Corruption Charges

The Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutors office (SAP) says it suspects Nasirov might have helped fugitive lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko dodge taxes.

Onyshchenko, who fled Ukraine before being stripped of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution last summer, claims to have recorded conversations detailing corruption involving Poroshenko and his allies.

He is wanted in Kyiv on suspicion of fraud and of embezzling the equivalent of more than $100 million in tax revenues from natural gas delivery contracts.

Nasirov's lawyer, Oleksandr Miroshnik, said on March 3 that his client remained unconscious following surgery. He said that Nasirov had already been ill and that his hospitalization has nothing to do with the ongoing investigation.

Miroshnik added that NABU's "attempt" to hand the document to Nasirov to inform that he is a suspect was conducted illegally.

The pro-Western government that came to power after protests known as the Euromaidan pushed Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014 has been under pressure to tackle corruption and reform the economy.

Poroshenko has pledged to root out graft, but no senior official has been successfully prosecuted for corruption by his government.

See the rest here:
Ukraine's Tax Chief Targeted In Corruption Probe - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty