“Over time you just see a wearing down of the defenses,” a former White House official said, describing the struggle to contest the influence of Giuliani, Putin and Orban. ADBefore running for president, Zelensky starred in a television sitcom in which he portrayed the Ukrainian president. ADSenior U.S. diplomats said they had limited insight into the private conversation between Trump and Orban, let alone how Trump’s views of Ukraine have formed. “Basically, everyone agreed — no Orban meeting,” said a former White House official involved in internal discussions. Mulvaney’s involvement in approving the Orban visit was one of several instances in which he overruled national security officials, officials said.

Source: Washington Post October 21, 2019 22:07 UTC