Despite widespread media reports that the Ukraine meddling narrative has been 'debunked', three Senate Republican committee chairmen say otherwise. According to the Daily Caller's Chuck Ross, Sens. Chuck Grassley, Ron Johnson and Lindsey Graham announced on Friday that they are seeking records from former DNC operative Alexandra Chalupa and Andreii Telizkhenko - a former employee of the Ukrainian embassy who told Politico that Chalupa was "coordinating an investigation with the Hillary team on Paul Manafort," and that the embassy "worked very closely" with her.
"If we can get enough information on Paul [Manafort] or Trump’s involvement with Russia, she can get a hearing in Congress by September," Telizhenko recalled Chalupa saying in the January, 2017 report (which Politico has desperately been trying to walk back).
Chalupa was paid $412,000 by the DNC between 2004 and June 2016, according to the Caller.
Chalupa met throughout 2016 with Ukrainian embassy officials, and sought to trade information related to Manafort, who worked through 2014 for former Ukrainian President ViktorYanukovych, on Jan. 11, 2017, Politico reported. Telizhenko told Politico he was directed by his bosses to help Chalupa in the effort.
In addition to Chalupa’s efforts, multiple Ukrainian government officials spoke out against Trump during the 2016 campaign.
One official scrutinized by Republicans is Serhiy Leshchenko, a former Ukrainian parliamentarian who gained international attention in August 2016 for helping publicize the so-called “black ledger” that detailed payments that the Ukrainian Party of Regions allegedly made to Manafort. -Daily Caller
"Contrary to the popular narrative in the ‘main stream media’ that Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 election has been debunked, or ‘no evidence exists,’ there are many unanswered questions that have festered for years," said Johnson.
Grassley, meanwhile, says the Ukraine-DNC link has yet to be fully explored.
"While there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, we know that Russia meddled in our democratic processes. However, certain reports of collusion and interference involving Ukrainian officials have not been sufficiently examined, and the few answers that have been given are inadequate," said the Iowa Republican.
In a leaked email obtained by The Blaze, Chalupa tells the DNC's Louise Miranda:
Hey, a lot coming down the pipe. I spoke to a delegation of 68 investigative journalists from Ukraine last night at the Library of Congress, the Open World Society forum. They put me on the program to speak specifically about Paul Manafort. I invited Michael Isikoff, who I've been working with for the past few weeks, and connected him to the Ukrainians. More offline tomorrow, since there was a big Trump component you and Lauren need to be aware of that will hit in the next few weeks. Something I'm working on that you should be aware of. -Alexandra Chalupa to Louise Miranda
Meanwhile, The Blaze also obtained a covertly recorded conversation in which Artem Sytnyk, Ukraine's Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU - which Joe Biden helped form) brags about helping Hillary Clinton in 2016.