Criminal case opened on Poroshenko-Biden wiretap

The State Bureau of
Investigations (DBR) of Ukraine has opened a criminal case on the alleged
illegal wiretappings of phone conversations between former Ukrainian President
Poroshenko and then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the alleged audio recordings
of which were published on May 19 by MP Andriy Derkach, the pravda.com.ua news
site reported on May 25, citing an anonymous law enforcement source. The bureau
will investigate whether Poroshenko’s phone was wiretapped, which could have
harmed state interests, the report said.

A state register
revealed on May 21 that the scandalous Kyiv district judge Serhiy Vovk, widely
suspected of having political ties to pro-Russian agents, issued a ruling on
Apr. 21 requiring the Prosecutor General’s Office to open a criminal case on
the interference of Biden in the activity of former Prosecutor General Viktor
Shokin. The alleged crime is interfering in the activity of an employee of a
law enforcement body.

Zenon Zawada: In general, the DBR, the Security
Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General’s Office serve the
interests of the President’s Office. Meanwhile, the Specialized Anti-Corruption
Prosecutor’s Office has maintained its independence, more or less. This raises
the question of why the DBR would open a criminal case that benefits the
interests of former President Poroshenko, who is actively being investigated
and questioned with the president’s endorsement.

This is the third
major wiretapping scandal of the year. The SBU is investigating the wiretap and
release of embarrassing
statements made by former PM Honcharuk, while the DBR is investigating the leak of recordings involving
Denys Yermak,
the brother of President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak. The specialized
prosecutor is investigating the bribery accusations against the Yermaks, though
no criminal charges have been filed on either side.

In light of these
facts, we believe the DBR opened the criminal case of illegal wiretapping of
Poroshenko for several reasons: (1) to prosecute a crime, or at least create
the impression of doing so, (2) to save face amid the latest embarrassing
scandal, (3) to rectify Ukraine’s threatened relations with the U.S., and (4)
to find more information about who is wiretapping state officials, out of
concern for avoiding the next wiretapping scandal – possibly directly involving
Zelensky – that could have even worse consequences.

We expect the Zelensky administration to extend to this political
episode its overall foreign policy approach of fully satisfying neither
pro-Russian forces, nor pro-Western forces. In its view, maintaining this type
of balance, particularly in the public’s perception, is more important than the
facts of this or any other legal case or political conflict.