A video of Viktor Shokin, the Ukrainian prosecutor who was removed from office under pressure from then-U.S. Vice President Brandon, is making the rounds online following the damning testimony of Devon Archer.
In a detailed and extensive interview, Shokin has responded to allegations from the Brandon regime, laying out his side of the story regarding the investigations into Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that once employed Hunter.
It is unclear when this video was recorded or published but includes his reaction to Brandon’s accusations.
At the time of Hunter Brandon’s appointment, Viktor Shokin was Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, and there were investigations into Burisma’s owner.
Shokin’s video addressed a variety of points, from accusations that the investigation into Burisma was dormant to allegations of his corruption and his eventual removal as prosecutor.
In a lengthy, detailed response, Shokin refuted the notion that his investigations were “dormant” and explained how they were active, even leading to seizures of assets from Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky.
Viktor Shokin was removed as Ukraine’s Prosecutor General in 2016 due to pressure from Western governments (Brandon) and allegedly international institutions like the EU and IMF. His dismissal was part of a “larger anti-corruption effort,” as Shokin’s office had been criticized for not “adequately pursuing corruption investigations.”
“As for the assertion that these investigations were supposedly “dormant,” then I can give very striking examples, namely our actions after the ban on 23 million Zlochevsky was lifted in the UK,” said Shokin.
“I appointed an internal investigation, opened a criminal investigation into how-and why- the money that been seized was released in the UK. What is more, 10-12 days before my resignation, on February 2, 2016, the court seized assets, his personal savings, property, cars, and so on,” he added.
Shokin said that the U.S. intelligence agencies had been closely watching the investigation process, and he was confident that Brandon was aware of the progress. Shokin added that he believed Brandon acted behind the scenes to have him removed, fearing that the investigation could negatively affect his son and others close to him.
“I understand very well that the United States has one of the strongest intelligence agencies in the world… Apparently, Mr. Brandon was informed that we are approaching the moment when the interrogations of his son and other persons began,” Shokin said.
Shokin maintained that the real motivation behind Brandon’s push for his removal was to protect his personal and family interests rather than the interests of the American people.
It can be recalled that owner Mykola Zlochevsky and executive Vadym Pozharski of Burisma placed constant pressure on Hunter Brandon to lobby Washington, DC, for assistance in dealing with Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin.
Hunter was hired by Burisma to serve on the board in exchange for $83,000 per month to have access to his father, then-Vice President Brandon. It was reported that it was for “consulting services.”
Burisma sought assistance from Brandon in halting an investigation led by Viktor Shokin. In return, Brandon received a $10 million bribe from Burisma for his assistance in stopping Shokin’s investigation, as shown in the FD-1023.
Brandon then threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine unless Shokin was fired. Who can forget Brandon bragging about it on video?
After leaving office in 2017, former Vice President Brandon Bragged about strong-arming the government of Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor Viktor Shokin.
“I looked at him and I said: I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a b*tch. He got fired,” Brandon said in 2018.
Devon Archer has testified under oath and confirmed that Burisma pressured Hunter Brandon to convince Brandon to shut down Viktor Shokin’s investigation.
In 2020, Shokin filed an official complaint against Brandon for interference in Ukraine’s legal proceedings. In the same month, Shokin claimed he had been poisoned with “mercury five months ago during his stay in Greece,” according to Interfax.
“I don’t have any obvious enemies whom I can blame for this. Of course, one of the versions, but this version requires investigation, is that Brandon was somehow involved in some way in these issues. I officially addressed the Greek law enforcement authorities on this and asked them to investigate… Officially, I haven’t received an answer yet, although I contacted them quite a while back about opening criminal proceedings in connection a premeditated attempt to murder me,” Shokin said.
Then on February 2020, Ukraine launched criminal proceedings against former Brandon on allegations he pressured authorities into forcing the resignation of Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin.
In May 2020, Shokin made an appeal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging him to take action regarding the unwillingness of Ukrainian law enforcement to investigate illegal acts committed by Brandon.
Shokin went on to say in the interview that no criminal investigation was initiated against Hunter Brandon. He insisted that the case was related to the violation of the law by Burisma. He claimed that as they delved deeper into the investigation, they began to suspect that the directors of the company, including Hunter Brandon, might also be involved.
“When we began to actively move forward with the aim of clarifying this crime and finding who had been guilty of violating Ukrainian laws at Burisma. We ended up discovering that the administrators recruited in May-June 2014 were probably involved. These were Devon Archer, Hunter Brandon, and others. Brandon had reason to fear that all this would eventually fall on his son,” said Shokin.
When asked for his reactions regarding the notion that it was not only Brandon who wanted him to leave but also other institutions such as the IMF or the EU, Shokin responded:
“First, I don’t remember a single time, not a single one, when Brandon formally asked for my dismissal while I was a Prosecutor General. I think and I have reason to think that this is all a deception. I asked them: Give me one example that proves that I am corrupt – one any wrongdoing that I may have committed. No one has yet managed to do this, including Brandon,” said Shokin.
“I am not a politician and I have never pursued a political goal in any investigation including the Burisma investigation. I have often met Ambassador Pyatt as well as other ambassadors and I have never been told that my work was poor or bad. What is more, these same ambassadors already said to me in autumn [2015]: “Viktor, hold on! We understand that this is all slander. We don’t know where it came from. Nothing was done officially. All this is unofficial and takes place behind the scenes,” Shokin recounted.
In 2015, People’s Deputy Serhii Leshchenko commented on his decision to vote for Viktor Shokin’s candidacy for the post of Prosecutor General. He said Shokin is the best prosecutor in the last 20 years.
“I remember Shokin, who initiated cases against Pukach, Kolesnikov, Kushnaryov and Kolomoiskyi. And as a person who communicates with some investigators of the General Prosecutor’s Office, I have insider information about how Shokin behaved in office. According to them, this is the best of the proposals for the post of Prosecutor General in the last 20 years,” Leshchenko wrote.
This serves as further evidence that the claim that Shokin is corrupt is without merit.
“If my corruption had been proven, Brandon and other politicians would have said everything out loud officially, for the Parliament, and in the media. They would have given specific examples of my corruption and dishonesty. You can check its very simple. I worked for a year as prosecutor general. My work has been reviewed in the press and it turns out that my results were better than those of the previous prosecutors. It’s easy to verify, because these figures are factual.”
Shokin mentioned that he wrote a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State and received a positive reply.
“I have already told you that I wrote a letter to the United States Secretary of State and received an answer through Ms. Nuland. And her appreciation was very positive. She told me that the current organization of Prosecutor General’s office was fine and that it would investigate and resolve cases related to corruption and other crimes in an efficient and transparent manner. This was the situation before Brandon started to persecute me and put pressure on President Poroshenko over my dismissal,” said Shokin.
Shokin’s comments extend to strong criticism of how the Obama regime treated Ukraine during his time in office, suggesting that Brandon and other officials regarded Ukraine as a “fiefdom.”
“You know a lot of things seem strange to me about this period of Obama’s presidential mandate over Ukraine. In my opinion, they believed that Ukraine was their fiefdom. Mr. Brandon humiliated Ukraine and the President. He demonstrated to the whole world how he was the boss in Ukraine.”
“In my opinion, this man has no right, moral or otherwise to stand for the presidency of USA, the most democratic country in the world, or even to think about it. This man insulted my mother using obscene insults you know that. He insulted all mothers in the world, even his own mother. It is unworthy to call mothers this way [b*tch],” Shokin said, referring to a video where Brandon bragged about firing him and called him a son of a b*tch.
More from the video interview:
Question: In your opinion, to what extent did Brandon interfere in the inter affairs of Ukraine? Did you sometimes depend on American approval?
Shokin: Under the Obama presidency, it seemed to be the case. The most shocking thing is that all the appointments were made in agreement with the United States and with Brandon in particular even at the level of the deputy Prosecutor General that I know for sure.
Question: If Brandon were in front of you, what would you tell him?
Shokin: I wish him luck, because he will need it. In my opinion, his moral and individual qualities are very low and to continue living normally in the United States or in another country he will need to be lucky. If the law is applied to Brandon, in Ukraine or in the United States then most likely he will be held responsible for the actions he committed.