Besides U.S. policy on Ukraine, the central subject of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Aug. 5 questioning of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine nominee Keith W. Dayton, a retired lieutenant general, was his integrity in dealings with President Donald J. Trump.
Nominated for the position by Trump, Dayton faced the most scrutiny from Democratic senators Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Both wanted to know his opinion of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
When asked by Menendez whether security assistance to any country should be delayed to gain domestic political advantage, Dayton said “no.” But when asked whether Trump was wrong to delay security assistance to Ukraine in 2019 for more than a month, Dayton proved to be evasive.
“I’m not sure what the exact circumstances were on that. I was in Ukraine at the time. And I was not aware that this has affected any of our efforts that we’ve dealt with on Ukraine at the time. The president does what the president does, and I am there at the discretion of the president and I fully understand that. But I’m also, if I’m in Ukraine, I’m at the disposal of the American public as well,” Dayton said.
Menendez also asked whether Dayton would commit to refusing to meet Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani or his associates. In 2019, Giuliani and his Ukrainian associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman tried to get Ukraine to investigate U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m not going to commit to that because I believe that as an ambassador I would have an obligation to meet with any U.S. citizen and hear them out if they come,” Dayton said. “But … anything I would deal with Mr. Giuliani or any other person that approaches me will be guided by strict integrity.”
Murphy has continued this line of questioning arguing that Giuliani visited Ukraine in 2019 not as a private U.S. citizen, but as a person representing Trump’s campaign interests. So Murphy asked whether it would be appropriate for the ambassador to Ukraine to meet any representatives of the president’s or his opponent’s election efforts, particularly months prior to the Nov. 3 presidential election.
“It would depend on what their agenda is … If they’re there for very partisan purposes – of course not … The U.S. ambassador should not be advancing the interests of either of the parties just before the presidential election,” Dayton said.
Finally, after being asked by Menendez whether he understands that, as the U.S. ambassador, he is responsible to report not only to Trump’s executive branch but also to Congress, Dayton made a commitment to report any election interference to the committee.
“If I, as a U.S. Ambassador in Kyiv, have any indication that there is any kind of election interference going on using Ukraine as a lever to do that, I would of course report that directly to this committee. I think you have a right to know that, I think I have an obligation to report that to you,” Dayton said.
In his opening statement, Dayton also outlined his priorities on policy towards Ukraine.
“If confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee and Congress to continue our strong bipartisan support for the Ukrainian people, enhance our already deep bilateral relationship, support Ukraine’s reform agenda, counter Russian malign influence, and work to fully restore sovereignty and territorial integrity. These steps will be critical to advancing our shared goal of Ukraine joining the Euro-Atlantic community as a full and free member,” Dayton said.
Following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing, Dayton’s nomination for the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine must be approved by the Senate.
Ukraine has not had an ambassador from the United States since Trump fired Marie L. Yovanovitch in May 2019 after she became the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated against her by Giuliani, and his associates, including Lev Parnas. They convinced Trump that she was bad-mouthing him. Yovanovitch, during testimony at the House impeachment hearings, said she believed she was targeted for removal because she stood in the way of corrupt business dealings. She retired in January after 35 years in the U. S. Foreign Service.
Since Yovanovitch’s departure, American interests have been served by two charge d’affaires — William B. Taylor, the ambassador in Ukraine from 2006– 2009, and Kristina Kvien, who took over as head of the mission after Taylor left in January 2020.
Trump announced on May 1, 2020, his nomination as Dayton.
Dayton currently serves as a senior U.S. defense adviser to Ukraine. He is also the director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies Garmisch, Germany.
His current service follows a four-decade career in the U. S. Army, retiring in 2010 with the rank of lieutenant-general.
Among his many assignments, Dayton was the U.S. security coordinator for Israel/ Palestinian Authority; the director of strategy, plans and policy, Army staff, the Pentagon; the director of operations for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and U.S. defense attache to Russia.
Dayton earned a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, a B.A./M.A. from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and an M.A. from the University of Southern California in conjunction with the United States Army Russian Institute in Garmish, Germany.
He is the recipient of numerous awards for his military service, including from the State Department and from the Canadian, German and Austrian Governments. He speaks Russian and German.
