Top Senate Republicans want answers about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election, seeking interviews with former Democratic National Committee consultant Alexandra Chalupa and former Ukrainian Embassy officer Andrii Telizhenko.

Chalupa and Telizhenko featured prominently in a 2017 Politico article cited repeatedly by Republicans, including during impeachment proceedings, as evidence Ukraine attempted to help former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton win in 2016.

Chalupa, 43, a Ukrainian American founder of her own consulting firm and a co-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee’s Ethnic Council, faces allegations she coordinated with Ukrainian officials while digging up Russia-related dirt on President Trump’s then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

Telizhenko, 29, is a former low-level staffer at the Ukrainian Embassy in D.C. and a current consultant in Kyiv who was with Rudy Giuliani during the Trump lawyer’s controversial trip to Ukraine this week. Telizhenko claims he was told by Oksana Shulyar, a top aide for Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly, that he should help Chalupa in her 2016 anti-Trump efforts.

Chalupa disputes Telizhenko’s claims.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, and Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley asked on Friday for “relevant records” from Chalupa and Telizhenko and said they're seeking “staff-led transcribed interviews” with both.

“Oksana said that if I had any information, or knew other people who did, then I should contact Chalupa,” Telizhenko told Politico. “They were coordinating an investigation with the Hillary team on Paul Manafort with Alexandra Chalupa.”

Chalupa said in 2017, “It would be understandable for Ukraine to be concerned given Trump's alliance with Putin and his hiring of Paul Manafort” but denied allegations Ukraine helped her interfere in the 2016 election.

“In my experience, the Embassy of Ukraine was always very careful throughout the U.S. election to stay neutral and tried to engage both campaigns,” Chalupa wrote. “They were always professional and upfront about not getting involved, even where Manafort was concerned.”

The Ukrainian Embassy denied Telizhenko’s account, and the DNC said Chalupa acted on her own.

Giuliani claimed Telizhenko had “direct evidence” of “Ukrainian collusion, not Russian collusion” in October and claimed fired Ukrainian prosecutors Viktor Shokin and Yuriy Lutsenko had such evidence. Giuliani’s December trip to Ukraine featured meetings with all three Ukrainians.

“To all conspiracy theorist there is no secret on what we are doing — The TRUTH will come out,” Telizhenko tweeted Thursday along with a picture of himself and Giuliani in Ukraine.



With America’s Mayor @RudyGiuliani prepping for tomorrow another hard working day in meetings with Mr. Shokin and Mr. Lutcenko. To all conspiracy theorist there is no secret on what we are doing.The TRUTH will come out. God Bless Ukraine and God Bless the United States of America pic.twitter.com/kOucxt2W8a — Andrii Telizhenko (@AndriyUkraineTe) December 5, 2019

Telizhenko has been back and forth between Ukraine and D.C. in recent months, sharing photos of himself at the Trump Hotel and elaborating about his Ukraine-DNC claims on right-wing One America News.

House Intelligence Committee Republicans mentioned Chalupa in their impeachment strategy memo and requested her as one of their desired impeachment witnesses, though this was denied by Chairman Adam Schiff.

“I would love to testify,” Chalupa tweeted in November. “It would be their crime syndicates’ nightmare.”

Chalupa tweeted Republicans had “elevated Moscow’s disinformation attacks targeted at me, an American.”



.@DevinNunes, for the past 4 years I’ve been a target of the Kremlin’s cyber warfare & disinformation warfare, including conducted by the GRU & Putin’s top spokespeople.



In Congress, you’ve elevated Moscow’s disinformation attacks targeted at me, an American. Please explain why. — Alexandra Chalupa (@AlexandraChalup) November 13, 2019

Though the three GOP lawmakers contended there is evidence Ukrainian officials interfered, they noted they weren't denying Kremlin interference.

“The senators’ inquiries are unrelated to an uncorroborated theory that Ukraine was also behind the hack of DNC servers,” the trio said. “U.S. intelligence officials and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found that Russia was responsible for the DNC hack.”

Trump’s belief in a Ukraine-related CrowdStrike conspiracy theory played a role in the whistleblower complaint against him.

During his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, immediately after Zelensky expressed interest in purchasing anti-tank weaponry, Trump asked Zelesnky "to do us a favor, though,” referring to looking into CrowdStrike and possible Ukrainian election interference. Trump urged Zelensky later in the call to investigate “the other thing,” meaning allegations of corruption related to Joe and Hunter Biden.

Beyond the interference allegations related to Chalupa and Telizhenko, Republicans point to the so-called Black Ledger, purportedly detailing millions of dollars in off-the-book payments made to Manafort by pro-Kremlin Ukrainian former President Viktor Yanukovych, whose 2016 publication prompted Manafort’s resignation. The document was reportedly leaked by Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau and was promoted by Ukrainian parliamentarian Serhiy Leshchenko. The GOP also points to harsh public criticisms leveled against Trump by numerous Ukrainian government officials after Trump’s Russia-friendly comments during the election.

Chalupa reportedly spoke with the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 to rebut claims of her involvement in any Ukrainian election interference.

Republican Chairman Richard Burr told reporters that, even if what Ukraine did wasn’t on the same scale as what Russia carried out, “it’s still meddling," though he later added, “I don’t believe anyone conducted the type of sophisticated election interference campaign Russia did in 2016.”