Ukraine lawmaker met Giuliani to discuss misuse of US taxpayer money in Ukraine

KIEV: An independent Ukrainian lawmaker said on Thursday he had met US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer in Kiev to discuss the alleged misuse of U.S. taxpayer money by Ukrainian state bodies.

In a statement on Facebook accompanied by photos of the meeting, Andriy Derkach said the two had discussed the creation of an interparliamentary group to fight corruption.

As Trump faces an impeachment inquiry led by House of Representative Democrats into whether he abused his office by pressing Ukraine to investigate a political rival, the U.S. president and his allies have sought to reject that by saying Trump is interested in the wider issue of corruption in Ukraine.

As first reported by the New York Times, lawyer Rudy Giuliani has travelled to Budapest and Kiev this week to meet current and former Ukrainian officials for a documentary series amid the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

The meetings also include a former top prosecutor whose activities were documented in a whistleblower report that sparked the impeachment inquiry.

Giuliani could not be reached for immediate comment.