President Trump is wrong to suggest that former Ukrainian chief prosecutor Viktor Shokin was “very good” and “very fair.” Then-Vice President Joe Biden was right to push Shokin out of office. He was a deeply corrupt Ukrainian swamp monster.
I note this in light of the newly released transcript of President Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That transcript shows Trump told Zelensky he believed Shokin was “very good” and “very fair.” Shokin was fired in 2016 after Biden rightly threatened to withhold U.S. aid from Kiev unless Shokin was fired.
Trump needs to wake up to the facts, but he doesn’t want to. After all, by presenting Shokin as a victim of Biden’s effort to cover up son Hunter Biden’s supposed criminal involvement with the Burisma Holdings group (of which Hunter was a director), Trump can portray his potential 2020 rival as corrupt. But hearing the president’s description of Shokin, Zelensky must have thought Trump mad.
This is because as a prosecutor, Shokin was about as far away from “good” and “fair” as you can imagine. During his 2015-2016 tenure as chief prosecutor, Shokin did two things: He covered for the criminality of powerful figures close to then-President Petro Poroshenko, and he earned the ire of just about every anti-corruption group in Ukraine.
Don’t take my word for it; take that of Shokin’s immediate deputy, Vitaly Kasko. In 2016, Kasko resigned from his post, describing his boss’ “hotbed of corruption.”
The specifics of Shokin’s corruption are most obvious in what he did not do. As Bloomberg documented in May, Shokin was particularly opposed to investigating high-wealth individuals suspected of corruption. Why those individuals? Presumably because a little of their high wealth would find its way into Shokin’s hands if he was able to make their problems go away. This obviously infuriated civil society activists who noticed that Shokin was stonewalling obvious investigative needs.
So when Shokin eventually was forced out under Biden’s threats, it was not about protecting Hunter Biden but rather about protecting the rule of law in Ukraine. It’s not as if Biden and the Obama administration were on their own here. The European Union also openly welcomed Shokin’s firing. They were right to do so.
Still not convinced?
Then consider that just as he was about to be forced out, Shokin launched new investigations against the very same civil society groups that had been criticizing his corrupt practices. Again, a true swamp creature.
Ironically, this systemic corruption under Poroshenko allowed Zelensky to persuade voters that only he could clean house. Interestingly, Kasko, the Shokin deputy who resigned, has now been reappointed to his position under Zelensky’s administration.
It is pretty clear that Zelensky has the exact opposite understanding of Shokin than Trump. Zelensky’s understanding is the right one.
