CORRUPTION/REX TILLERSON/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UKRAINE: “Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday [11-18-19] that ‘clearly asking for personal favors and using United States assets as collateral is wrong,’ a swipe at President Donald Trump as the investigation into his dealings with Ukraine intensifies. PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff asked Tillerson at an event in Texas what he would have done if — while he was secretary of state — US military assistance to Ukraine had been made conditional on the launching of a political investigation, which is what House Democrats accuse Trump of having done…Tillerson appears to have prevented some potentially troubling dealings initiated by those later found to be central to the Ukraine saga. CNN reported last month that Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, used a 2017 Oval Office meeting with Trump to press Tillerson, then-secretary of state, to support a prisoner swap to resolve the Justice Department’s prosecution of a Turkish businessman accused of violating Iran sanctions, a person briefed on the meeting tells CNN.”
–Jennifer Hansler, Michael Callahan and Caroline Kelly, “Tillerson swipes at Trump: ‘Asking for personal favors and using United States assets as collateral is wrong’,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 18, 2019 11:33 pm