Spartz Requests President Biden to Brief Congress on Ukrainian President Zelensky’s Chief of Staff

Yesterday, Congresswoman Spartz sent a letter to President Biden requesting a briefing on oversight procedures performed relating to President Zelensky’s Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak.

Based on a variety of intelligence, actions taken by Mr. Yermak in Ukraine and his alleged dealings in connection with Russia, Congress needs to obtain this information urgently to confirm or deny various serious allegations. Considering our material involvement in this conflict, we owe this level of rigor and accountability to the American people as Ukraine urgently needs increased levels and speed of security assistance, which unfortunately have not been prioritized by the Biden Administration.

Additionally, Congresswoman Spartz brought President Biden’s attention to the fact that Mr. Yermak appointed Mr. Oleg Tatarov as his deputy for law enforcement to combat corruption who instead, as well-known by President Biden, has been delaying the appointment of an independent anti-corruption prosecutor for over a year, rendering the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) dysfunctional. Mr. Tatarov was under investigation by the NABU in 2020 before his appointment where his case was allegedly inappropriately transferred to a regular prosecutor and closed. Mr. Tatarov was also a top police official under former President Yanukovych prosecuting Euromaidan protestors.

As President Zelensky works very hard to build alliances with the west and our country, it is our responsibility to inform him if we might have any concerns with key people around him. This is also our obligation to the brave Ukrainian soldiers and strong Ukrainian people fighting this fight for freedom and international order for us all.

To read a redacted version of the letter, visit https://spartz.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/spartz.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Spartz%20Letter%20to%20Biden_Yermak%20_red.pdf