Envoy

Washington’s envoy to Afghanistan emphasized the economic benefits of the peace deal with the Taliban, forging ahead with an agreement that has run into new political obstacles in the U.S. and the region.

Gordon Sondland, the Trump-appointed ambassador to the EU, said he kept high-level Trump administration officials “in the loop” about the president’s push for Ukraine to announce investigations into his political opponents.

Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the EU,  offers up his opening statement during morning impeachment hearings on Nov. 20, 2019.

Congressional Republicans pressed the discredited theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 U.S. election in defending President Donald Trump in Wednesday’s impeachment hearings.

A senior State Department envoy has written a highly critical assessment of the Trump administration’s abrupt withdrawal of troops from northeast Syria, U.S. officials said Thursday. Two officials familiar with the matter said the internal memo by the top American diplomat in northern Syria, William Roebuck, takes the administration to task for not doing enough to prevent Turkey’s invasion of...

There were three words President Donald Trump wanted to hear from the Ukraine president: Investigations, Biden, Clinton. That’s according to the transcript, released Thursday, of an impeachment inquiry interview with career State Department official George Kent. “Potus wanted nothing less than President Zelenskiy to go to the microphone and say investigations, Biden and Clinton,” Kent testified. “Basically there needed to...

Transcripts of closed door depositions from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker are set to be released Tuesday. NBC’s Craig Boswell reports.

Transcripts of closed door depositions from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker are set to be released Tuesday. NBC’s Craig Boswell reports.

House Democrats on Monday released the written record of testimony from two witnesses who say they were caught up in the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the president’s political rivals. Those witnesses: former top State Department official Michael McKinley and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. NBC’s Alice Barr reports.

It started with a warning to watch her back, that people were “looking to hurt” her. From there, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House investigators, it escalated into a chilling campaign to fire her as President Donald Trump and his allies angled in Eastern Europe for political advantage at home. Testimony from Yovanovitch, released on Monday, offered...

The words from one president to another, somewhat casual in tone, were not casual at all in meaning: “I would like you to do us a favor, though.” Those words have now prompted deployment of the ultimate political weapon, an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution as a means other than the ballot to remove a president from office. When...

The words from one president to another, somewhat casual in tone, were not casual at all in meaning: “I would like you to do us a favor, though.” Those words have now prompted deployment of the ultimate political weapon, an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution as a means other than the ballot to remove a president from office. When...

Washington’s Afghan peace envoy remained in Pakistan on Tuesday as part of efforts to find a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 18-year war, even though President Donald Trump hasn’t expressed any interest in resuming talks with the Taliban. The envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday and was expected to hold talks with the country’s powerful...

Representatives of Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan agreed Friday that negotiation is the only road to peace in Afghanistan, including an early resumption of direct U.S. talks with the Taliban. The day-long talks in Moscow came ahead of an intra-Afghan dialogue to be hosted by China. The Beijing talks, which are to be held next week, were postponed,...

Mark Esper sought a firsthand assessment Sunday of the U.S. military’s future role in America’s longest war as he made his initial visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief. Stalled peace talks with the Taliban and unrelenting attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. Esper told...

Long after more flamboyant colleagues flamed out of President Donald Trump’s favor amid ethics scandals, low-profile and folksy Rick Perry survived in the Cabinet in part by steering clear of controversy. Until now. The former Texas governor said Thursday he was quitting as energy secretary by year’s end. The announcement came as the House impeachment investigation highlighted his work in...

The impeachment inquiry is revealing vivid new details about the high-level unease over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, and those of his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as the swift-moving probe by House Democrats showed no signs Tuesday of easing. The testimony from the witnesses, mainly officials from the State Department and other foreign policy posts, is largely corroborating the...

George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state in the European and Eurasian Bureau, is testifying to Congress behind closed doors as part of the Democrats’ impeachment probe into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. Kent arrived on Capitol Hill under a congressional subpoena after the State Department ordered several former and current administration officials not to appear for scheduled...

Congress is returning from a two-week recess on Tuesday, but some lawmakers barely left Washington. Three House committees investigating impeachment worked through the break, issuing multiple subpoenas and holding depositions with State Department officials relevant to the inquiry. Democrats are investigating President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and exploring whether he abused his office by seeking dirt from a foreign...

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said on Friday that his office is reviewing several cases related to the owner of a gas company where former Vice President Joe Biden’s son sat on the board, as part of a review of all the criminal cases closed by his predecessors. U.S. President Donald Trump had pressed for such a review in a phone call...