美国国务院一名高级官员周三证实，唐纳德·特朗普总统的私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼领导了一场旨在驱逐前美国驻乌克兰大使的联合诽谤运动。

特朗普当选下一任驻俄大使的美国副国务卿约翰·苏利文向参议员们作证说前驻乌克兰大使玛丽·约瓦诺维奇揭露的情况本月早些时候弹劾调查人员关于朱利安尼深入参与乌克兰政策事务是准确的，并导致特朗普失去了“对她的信心”

约瓦诺维奇私下向众议院议员作证说，沙利文在今年早些时候被召回乌克兰职务后告诉她，这是“一场针对我的协同行动的结果，自2018年夏天以来，国务院一直受到总统的压力，要求罢免我。”

沙利文向参议院外交关系委员会证实了这一说法，并表示她没有做错任何事来证明她被解除大使职务。

“我的知识...朱利安尼先生的任何参与都与反对我们驻乌克兰大使的运动有关，”他说。“我不能判断他的所作所为是否合法或正确...因为我不确定他对乌克兰到底有什么打算。”

此外，沙利文表示，除了特朗普“对她失去信心”之外，国务卿迈克·庞贝不会就约瓦诺维奇的免职向他提供进一步的理由

唐纳德·特朗普总统的女儿兼白宫顾问伊万卡·特朗普(右)和美国副国务卿约翰·沙利文于9月6日抵达亚松森总统府。

约瓦诺维奇还指控特朗普的外交政策决定受到——并将继续受到——他周围人(如朱利安尼)、阴谋论和不良动机的严重影响。沙利文说，在庞贝和其他人询问约瓦诺维奇被驱逐的原因后，白宫有人向他提供了一套关于约瓦诺维奇的虚假信息。

考虑到所谓的诽谤运动，并希望“保持谨慎”，沙利文将他认为与约瓦诺维奇的免职无关的包裹交给了国务院监察长，以确定包裹的准确性和来源。

领导弹劾调查的民主党人后来被告知这一包假情报。他们将这些包含对前副总统乔·拜登未经证实的指控的材料描述为“宣传”和“揭穿阴谋论和毫无根据的指控”

朱利安尼后来在美国有线电视新闻网上承认，他是这个包裹的来源。

沙利文还说，他知道乌克兰扣留了近4亿美元用于打击俄罗斯侵略的军事援助，但他不知道具体原因。他表示，特朗普向外国施压，要求其调查国内政治对手——就像他对乌克兰总统所做的那样——是不合适的。

沙利文说:“征求对国内政治对手的调查，我认为这不符合我们的价值观。”。

TRUMP'S RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR NOMINEE CONFIRMS GIULIANI LED SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST FORMER UKRAINE DIPLOMAT

There was a concerted smear campaign headed by President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to oust a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, a top State Department official confirmed Wednesday.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, who is Trump's pick to become the next ambassador to Russia, testified to senators that revelations made by former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch to impeachment investigators earlier this month about Giuliani's deep involvement in Ukraine policy matters were accurate and led Trump to lose "confidence in her."

Yovanovitch testified to House lawmakers behind closed doors that Sullivan told her after she was recalled from her Ukraine post earlier this year, it was the result of "a concerted campaign against me, and that the department had been under pressure from the president to remove me since the summer of 2018."

Sullivan confirmed that account to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and said that she'd done nothing wrong to warrant her removal as ambassador.

"My knowledge...about any involvement of Mr. Giuliani was in connection with a campaign against our ambassador to Ukraine," he said. "I can't offer a judgment that what he did was kosher or correct...because I'm not sure exactly what he was up to in toto with respect to Ukraine."

In addition, Sullivan said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not provide him with further reasoning for Yovanovitch's removal, other than that Trump had "lost confidence in her."

President Donald Trump's daughter and White House adviser, Ivanka Trump (R), and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, arrive at the Presidential Palace in Asuncion, on September 6.

Yovanovitch had also alleged that Trump's foreign policy decisions were—and continue to be—heavily influenced by those around him (like Giuliani), conspiracy theories and bad motives. Sullivan said he was provided a package of disinformation about Yovanovitch that came from someone at the White House after Pompeo and others inquired about why Yovanovitch was ousted.

With the alleged smear campaign in mind and wanting "to be cautious," Sullivan turned over the package, which he deemed not relevant to Yovanovitch's removal, to the State Department's inspector general to determine its accuracy and who it came from.

Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry were later briefed on the packet of disinformation. They described the materials, which contained unproven claims about former Vice President Joe Biden, as "propaganda" and "debunked conspiracy theories and baseless allegations."

Giuliani later admitted on CNN that he was the source of the package.

Sullivan further said that he was aware nearly $400 million in military aid meant to combat Russian aggression was being withheld from Ukraine but that he did not know the exact reason why. He said Trump pressuring a foreign country to investigate a domestic political opponent—as he did with the Ukrainian president—would be inappropriate.

"Soliciting investigations into a domestic political opponent, I don't think that would be in accord with our values," Sullivan said.