Trump’s former Russia aide met with White House lawyer over Giuliani

Fiona Hill departed the administration days before Trump’s July 25 call to Ukraine.

President Donald Trump’s former top Russia aide Fiona Hill told House impeachment investigators on Monday that she had at least two meetings with a National Security Council lawyer about Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to convince Ukrainian officials to investigate the president’s political rivals, according to a person who was in the room for the testimony.

Hill told lawmakers and aides that then-national security adviser John Bolton, after learning of Giuliani’s efforts, told her to speak with lawyer John Eisenberg, the person said. Hill testified that she met with Eisenberg briefly on July 10, the same day she attended a meeting with Ukrainian officials at the White House. Hill said she had a longer meeting with Eisenberg on July 11, the person added.

Hill also told House impeachment investigators that Bolton told her, “I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and Mulvaney are cooking up,” referring to the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, whom Hill believed was involved in the discussions about Ukraine. Hill also said Bolton described Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, as “a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”

View the complete October 14 article by Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney on the Politico website here.