US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is leaving office. US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a visit to the state of Texas, without giving exact reasons for the step. US MEPs requested documents from Perry on the Ukraine affair last week.
He has done a fantastic job as Minister of Energy, Trump said. "But it was time - three years is a long time." A successor is already fixed.
Even before, there had been rumors about a speedy resignation. Whether the escalating Ukraine scandal has influenced his decision-making is still unclear. Bloomberg had reported on Thursday (local time) that Perry had announced his withdrawal to the US president, who was on his way to Texas on the plane. The Washington Post confirms the process.
Minister Perry is credited with a not insignificant role in the affair. Among other things, he is said to have put pressure on the Ukrainian president, with the aim of finding incriminating evidence about Hunter Biden. Biden, son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, was involved in a Ukrainian company. Unlike the White House, however, there are no indications or even evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.
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Prominent departures of the Trump government: And you're outIn an interview published this week, Perry admitted that he had exchanged views with Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on corruption in Ukraine.
Just last Saturday it had become known that US Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan is also leaving office. With Perry, he joins a long list of resignations and throws in the Trump administration.
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