Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Friday that he had no qualms being directed to work with Rudy Giuliani on matters related to Ukraine, since he “trusted him.”
“I’ve known Rudy since 2008. I endorsed him for President in 2008,” he said on Fox News. “I worked with him. I trusted him.”
When asked if he thought it was strange when President Donald Trump instructed him to talk to Giuliani about a potential meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Perry shrugged.
“As a governor of Texas, I used people outside of government all the time to give me information,” he said. “I respect the State Department. But I happen to know people in the energy industry who are smarter than the State Department folks. I didn’t see a problem with that at all.”
Perry says he had no qualms about being directed to work with Giuliani on Ukrainian matters pic.twitter.com/hSg4OnVMix
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 18, 2019
He also said that he “never heard the Biden name” and that the quid pro quo spelled out in the whistleblower complaint and call memo released by the White House was actually nonexistent.
Perry answered with a resounding “no” when asked if he witnessed evidence of a crime connected to Ukraine during his time in the administration.
Perry also said that he was waiting on advice from his general counsel about whether or not he should comply with the House subpoena, and that they’d likely have a decision by the end of the day.
Perry’s role in the Ukrainian scandal has come into clearer focus lately, with a Wednesday report revealing that Trump directed Perry to consult with Giuliani on Ukrainian matters when the former returned from leading the U.S. delegation at Zelensky’s inauguration in May.
In addition, deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for Ukraine George Kent’s testimony this week highlighted Perry as one of the “three amigos” charged with handling all Ukrainian matters, while officials like Kent were sidelined.
