Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, here is what the Senate and the American people need to know before the next vote coming up on the nominee to be the Secretary of Energy.

First, Mr. Rick Perry--who until yesterday was the Energy Secretary-- has refused to comply with the subpoena to testify about his involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scheme.

Second, Acting Secretary Dan Brouillette--nominated to replace Mr. Perry--has failed to provide substantive answers to key questions about Mr. Perry's dealings with the Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz.

Third, since I have been raising questions on this matter, Naftogaz executives have reportedly been coming forward to cooperate in a Federal investigation into the Ukraine scheme.

Mr. Perry has virtually skipped town, leaving his job after insisting for months that he was determined to stay while the Ukraine scheme is front and center in the House impeachment inquiry.

Now, with the vote on Mr. Perry's replacement just minutes away, the Senate is truly in the dark, lacking answers to important questions. Those questions include issues pertaining to Mr. Perry's role in a campaign to change the leadership of Naftogaz; questions about what Mr. Perry, his donors, and certain crooked associates of Rudy Giuliani's stood to gain from those changes; questions about Mr. Perry's role in the Ukraine scheme, which Trump administration officials have admitted was about withholding critical military aid in a face-to-face meeting until the Ukrainian President agreed to do for Donald Trump what he described as a political favor.

These are serious issues closely tied to ongoing investigations. This goes way, way beyond the well-documented waste we often see in the Trump Cabinet--private jets, soundproof booths, $30,000 desks; this is about the administration using its full might to push a foreign leader into helping Donald Trump's reelection campaign. The Senate ought to know about Rick Perry's involvement, especially since he was described by Mr. Holmes and others as one of the ``three amigos'' who were right in the center of all this.

What exactly is the rush on confirming his replacement? This isn't the first week of a new administration. Nothing is going to happen to the powerplants or nuclear facilities if the Senate takes the time to get answers to these central questions. Dan Brouillette is already the Acting Secretary. No American interest suffers if the Senate insists on getting answers that go right to the heart of the Senate's oversight responsibilities.

I briefly want to recall what this is all about.

The ``three amigos'' basically seized control of our country's ties with Ukraine under the direction of the President and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Secretary Perry led the American delegation that attended President Zelensky's inauguration in May after the Vice President was told to stay home. The Vice President and President Zelensky held private meetings.

It has been reported that Perry pushed President Zelensky to fire members of the board of Naftogaz and replace them with Mr. Perry's own political donors. At a subsequent meeting with the Ukraine Government and energy sector officials, Perry reportedly said that the entire board ought to be replaced.

The Associated Press reported that at that meeting--and I am going to quote here--the Associated Press said that one of those people who attended that meeting where Perry was in attendance ``said he was floored by the American requests because the person had always viewed the U.S. government `as having a higher ethical standard.'''

The changes Mr. Perry was seeking lined up with changes sought by a pair of now-indicted men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were apparently friends of Mr. Giuliani's. They, too, wanted different leadership at Naftogaz. Here is what the Associated Press had to say about that:

As Rudy Giuliani was pushing Ukraine officials last spring to investigate Donald Trump's main political rivals, a group of individuals with ties to the president and his personal lawyer were also active in the former Soviet republic. Their aims were profit, not politics. This circle of businessmen and Republican donors touted connections to Mr. Giuliani and Trump while trying to install new management at the top of Ukraine's massive state-owned gas company. Their plan was to then steer lucrative contracts to companies controlled by Trump allies, according to two people with knowledge of their plans.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the role of Mr. Giuliani. At least one Naftogaz official is reportedly cooperating in the investigation.

Some of Mr. Perry's political donors did score a lucrative energy deal in Ukraine after Perry got involved there. Perry admits he was in contact with Giuliani about Ukraine.

It was also revealed in impeachment testimony that Perry was seemingly made aware in July of the Trump scheme and Ukraine.

Unlike Fiona Hill, unlike David Holmes, unlike Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, Rick Perry has refused to testify and share what he knows with the public.

For nearly 3 weeks, I have been trying to get answers. At Mr. Brouillette's nomination hearing on November 14, I asked him really basic questions. I had plenty of time--to a great extent, courtesy of my good friend the ranking minority member, who is always fair. I had plenty of time. I asked basic questions. It came down to this:

Who did Secretary Perry meet with regarding Ukraine and Naftogaz? He was the head of a powerful department. He was one of the self-styled ``three amigos.'' Who else was in the loop? What did they talk about?

Acting Secretary Brouillette only acknowledged--he wasn't willing to say anything. This was a full court stonewall. He wasn't willing to say anything other than that there were meetings--no other information and nothing substantive on the questions I asked. So I just kept asking him.

Who took part in the meetings with Secretary Perry on Naftogaz? When and where did they take place? What materials were produced? I don't think Secretary Perry just went to those meetings all by his lonesome with maybe a bag lunch or something like that. My guess is that he had staff from the Department of Energy with materials produced by the Department of Energy.

Who outside of the Department did Secretary Perry speak with regarding changes in Naftogaz, and what was the substance of those communications? It is not like Secretary Perry would have paid his own way and freelanced a ``three amigos''-Ukraine policy in secret. This is the head of the Energy Department. It looks like he was right in the center of the Trump corruption scheme in Ukraine.

I am just going to close in this way. I don't understand the rush. Mr. Brouillette is at the Department of Energy now. He is the acting chief. Western civilization is not going to end if the Senate insists on getting some answers to the questions that I have presented this afternoon. We are still going to have our powerplants and nuclear facilities running, and all of the national security activities that go on at the Department of Energy will still go forward if the Senate takes the time to require that there be substantive answers to the questions that I have asked of this nominee.

I believe it is malpractice for the U.S. Senate to rush this debate before getting answers from this administration, Mr. Brouillette, Secretary Perry, and those who, I believe, could answer these questions if they didn't want to, in effect, say to the U.S. Senate: We are just going to pass here. You might want to hold us accountable, but we have a chance to just skip out, and we are going to take it.

This is not the way the Senate is supposed to work. That is why I cannot support moving forward with this nominee, and I will be voting no this afternoon.

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