Congressman McGovern: Putin is guilty of war crimes

May 10, 2022 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Congressman James McGovern thought he was going to Poland to discuss the war in Ukraine with Polish officials on May 2. What he didn’t know is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had planned an additional trip to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Volodymr Zelensky.

McGovern explained to Reminder Publishing that he and six other members of the House selected by Pelosi for the trip were not told about this addition in plans until the delegation landed in Poland.

McGovern, who heads the Rules Committee, was joined by Gregory Meeks, chairman of the Foreign Affairs panel; Adam Schiff, chair of the Intelligence Committee; Barbara Lee, who heads the Appropriations Committee’s subpanel on foreign operations; Bill Keating, chair of the Europe subcommittee on Foreign Affairs; and Jason Crow, an Army veteran who also sits on the Intelligence and Armed Services panels.

For extra security, McGovern said the group’s cell phones were collected for the duration of the trip.

McGovern said he thought he and his colleagues were going to the border to see first-hand the challenges facing refugees from the war in Ukraine. “We found out she wanted to do more than that,” he added.

With Pelosi, who is second in line for the presidency, part of the delegation McGovern said the trip to Ukraine would have been scrapped if the plans had been leaked.

He said the result was a “very intense” three-hour meeting with Zelensky.

McGovern said, “Ukraine is not just holding its own. It’s pushing the Russians back. They are winning. The bottom line is what Russia has in numbers Ukraine has in spirit.”

He added, “You see it. It’s really quite inspirational.”

He said the Ukrainian president “made it clear” he needs more support to end the Russian invasion. McGovern said a supplemental aid package was to be considered by Congress.
Zelensky also expressed gratitude to President Joseph Biden and to the nation.

McGovern explained that Pelosi was determined to meet with Zelensky as “a signal to the Ukrainian people there is real solidarity here … the alliance is strong.”

He described Russian actions in Ukraine as “horrific.”
“The Russians have been doing it in the most barbarous and vicious way,” he said and added mass graves of civilians have been discovered as well as the bodies of people who were shot “execution style.”

He believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is guilty of war crimes and that evidence indicating the actions of Russian troops under his direction should be preserved.

“Do you just turn a blind eye to all this?” he asked.

The congressman explained that his “whole life has been dedicated to peace.” He had been critical of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he believes it would be “a terrible mistake” to allow Russian aggression as seen in Ukraine.

He explained the invasion has blocked the export of wheat and others grain from Ukraine, which will affect people in other countries, “the most vulnerable, the world’s poor.”

“I don’t think there is a pathway for Russia to win,” McGovern said.

Upon return

On May 3, Pelosi’s office issued statements about the bill enrollment ceremony for the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022.

Pelosi said, “Here we are: the legislation establishing the Lend-Lease initiative to help the people of Ukraine and the people of Eastern Europe fight for democracy. We’re very proud of this legislation, which will now go to the President for his signature. Lend-Lease was a model of cooperation in a fight for democracy then in World War II and a model for, for us to proceed now.”

She continued, “We just came from the airport within this hour. Within the hour the plane landed, came right here to report to the American people how well-received the assistance they have provided so far has been. The President of Ukraine began his remarks being grateful to the people of America, to our president, President Biden, for the leadership that our country has demonstrated. We witnessed in him a leader of great resolve, a leader of great discipline, of focus, and it was – it was very inspiring. I have to say: it was informative, and it was inspiring.”

Pelosi added, “We learned a great deal. We became more informed about the current situation on the ground. We became more inspired by the leadership and the courage of the people of Ukraine. And we came back ready to get the bill done so that the aid can – the assistance can flow. It’s really not assistance; it’s more cooperation in the fight for democracy.”

“I was so proud of – I am so proud of our delegation, a heavyweight delegation. Chairs of committees and subcommittees of jurisdiction that have everything to do with the legislation that we are about to pass – but I’ll let them speak for themselves. We did, though – I just want to brag, say to the president, President Zelenskyy, that just this week we passed this legislation, that just this week we passed what I call ‘seize and freeze.’ It has a more official name than that – much of that coming out of, that being the work of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Before that, we had passed legislation to stop the normal trade relations with Russia as well as cutting off the purchase of U.S. oil from Russia, and of course, our previous package of $13.6 billion,” Pelosi said.

Share this: