Giuliani appealed to the White House, but the denial was not reversed, Kent said, according to officials. Her ouster outraged many at the State Department, and Yovanovitch, who is on leave at Georgetown, testified last week that her departure came as a direct result of pressure Trump placed on the State Department. ADBut Parnas said Giuliani had been upset when Shokin could not accept his invitation due to the visa issue. All of a sudden, he goes, buys a ticket, and our State Department denies the visa,” Parnas said. “That’s why I think the ambassador’s not there.”Officials stressed that the denial was made on the merits by senior State Department officials.

Source: Washington Post October 19, 2019 03:11 UTC