Trump 'might' discuss Russian hacking of Ukrainian energy company with Putin, says White House
Donald Trump "might" discuss the Russian hacking of a Ukrainian energy company – which is at the heart of his impeachment – with Vladimir Putin the next time the two leaders meet, according to White House advisor Kellyanne Conway.
A Ukrainian official said that it will seek the FBI's support in its investigation of the hack, reported by a US cybersecurity firm that says it discovered Russian military hackers attempted to steal emails from the energy company.
According to cybersecurity firm Area 1 Security, a Russian-backed effort targeting Burisma began in November. Russian hackers used a phishing campaign using web domains mimicking the company's websites, then sent emails to its employees inviting them to the websites where they were directed to enter their information.
Asked whether the president will discuss the reported hack with Russia, Ms Conway told reporters outside the White House "sure, maybe he will" but alleged that Burisma was involved in corruption, a defence used by Mr Trump's supporters to try to explain why he was withholding military aid to Ukraine until its president announced an investigation into the company.
Ms Conway accused Joe Biden's son Hunter, who sat on its board, of having "no talent and no energy experience" to parlay his experience in Ukraine with business elsewhere, and she accused the press of "cherry-picking what interests you most about Burisma" despite new evidence that explicitly links the president to pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.
A government watchdog office says the administration illegally withheld military aid to Ukraine after it was approved by Congress, an allegation at the heart of the president's impeachment charge on abuse of power that will now face a trial in the Senate.
Ms Conway said: "The idea that you need the Ukraine's or really anybody else to beat Joe Biden is as foolish as us needing the Russians to help beat Hillary Clinton. Everything you need is right in front of you when they open their mouths and look at their records."
She also said Mr Trump "might" discuss Burisma while she was making an appearance on Fox News, during which she had struggled to say whether the president knew whether Lev Parnas, an associate of Mr Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani, was lying about testimony that links Mr Trump to the pressure on Ukraine.
Asked *repeatedly* whether Lev Parnas was lying about Trump knowing "exactly" what was going on, Kellyanne Conway doesn't give a straight answer
Hemmer: Are you saying flat out, 100%, what he alleges is not true? Yes or no?
Conway: He's not under oath ... objection, hearsay! pic.twitter.com/JFCjBPnCEV— Lis Power (@LisPower1)
An eight-page report from the Government Accountability Office says that "faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law".
Ms Conway said she had not seen the report but said "it's a good thing" that the military aid did end up getting to Ukraine.
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