Connecticut GOP chair asked congressional candidate linked to possible Yovanovitch surveillance to drop out of race
Is the future of Robert Hyde's Connecticut congressional campaign in jeopardy? The state's GOP Chair J.R. Romano certainly hopes so.
Hyde, who's running as a Republican, was implicated Tuesday by new evidence that Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, handed over to the House Intelligence Committee. Parnas is known for aiding Giuliani in his quest to pressure Ukraine into investigating Trump's domestic rivals, and was subpoenaed by Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Under circumstances that aren't entirely clear, Hyde found his way into the saga. The evidence shows a series of text messages between Parnas and Hyde, in which Hyde uses crude language to describe former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before indicating he had a contact in Kyiv track her movements. The revelation caused quite a stir, and Yovanovitch's camp wants an investigation into the matter.
Romano apparently doesn't think Hyde's candidacy is worth the trouble that will likely result from his "antics," and he said Wednesday as he requested the suspension of the campaign.
I have asked Rob Hyde to end his bid for Congress. His campaign is a distraction for the Democrats to raise money and falsely label all Republicans with his antics. In my view he is not helping other Republican candidates or @realDonaldTrump win. #ctpolitics
— J.R. Romano (@CTGOPChair) January 15, 2020
Hyde has yet to speak on the matter officially, but said he will "provide extensive comments" Wednesday evening. His initial reactions indicate that he's probably leaning toward not taking Romano's advice.
JR RINO should resign from the @CTGOP ASAP. Never did anything but rig elections including his own and was a staunch advocate against @realDonaldTrump and still is.
— HYDE for U.S. Congress (@rfhyde1) January 15, 2020
More stories from theweek.com
Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for
Mitch McConnell should recuse himself
Trump declares major disaster in Puerto Rico
