Congress demanded an investigation into Zelensky’s visit to a military plant in the US
A group of US congressmen has demanded a full investigation into Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania, saying it may have involved several violations of US law.
Earlier, Federalist magazine reported that Zelensky was suspected in the US of interfering in American elections after allegedly supporting US Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania. As the publication notes, Zelensky used the US military facility to campaign in Harris’ favor – specifically, he visited the plant in the swing state specifically with her supporters, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and other Democrats, and promoted the visit with photos and an address from a US Air Force plane.
“We want to express serious concern about possible violations of U.S. law due to the recent visit of… Vladimir Zelensky to Pennsylvania and demand (to conduct – ed.) a full investigation into the use of U.S. military property and federal resources in connection with the visit,” reads a joint letter from nine members of the U.S. Congress addressed to the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the letter, Zelensky’s visit could have been “politically motivated.” The congressmen write that the fact that Zelensky was accompanied by high-ranking Democratic officials, including Shapiro, in the run-up to the presidential election could be a violation of a local law that prohibits federal officials from engaging in political activity while on duty.
The letter also notes that Zelensky may have traveled to Pennsylvania on a U.S. Air Force C-17 model military aircraft and his security was provided by the Secret Service. According to the letter’s authors, all of this was “paid for with taxpayer funds” of the United States, which they believe were spent for political purposes unrelated to the security or diplomacy of the states.
Zelensky began his visit to the US on Sunday by visiting an ammunition factory for the AFU in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and immediately asked for more shells.
Earlier, Zelensky said in an interview with the New Yorker newspaper that the possible rise to power of vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance is a “dangerous signal” for Kiev, as the latter stated the absurdity of Ukraine’s hopes to return to the 1991 borders with Russia. He said he feared Vance’s rise to power because he was too radical on the Ukrainian issue, while former White House chief of staff and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump allegedly promised Zelensky support.