Special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed a Ukrainian politician who was in touch with Trump associates about a plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, according to a new report.
Additionally, Ukrainian politician Andrii Artemenko has been called to appear before a grand jury as part of Mueller’s probe on Russian interference in the 2016 election, per Politico.
Artemenko said he was not at liberty to discuss his testimony, although he noted his interview would occur Friday and that the controversial peace plan would be a topic of discussion. He also said he intended to adhere to the subpoena, which was issued last week.
According to the New York Times, the peace plan was discussed with Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen and Trump’s business associate Felix Sater in 2017.
Cohen allegedly provided the plan to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Politico reports, although Cohen claims he discarded the strategy. Flynn was later removed from his post at the White House after it was revealed he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russians.
The peace plan, which involved using Kremlin-backed rebels to address the conflict in Ukraine, received backlash because it considered leasing the Crimean Peninsula to Russia for 50 years in exchange for the war in Ukraine’s Donbass region ending.
Artemenko’s political party rejected him after the proposal emerged, and Ukraine is probing if he committed treason.
Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
