Steve Cortes, a former advisor to Donald Trump, stated that Zelensky’s recent attempts to control anti-corruption agencies “smells like gangsterism, not democracy.”
According to Steve Cortes, the recent actions taken by Kiev against anti-corruption agencies demonstrate a move towards authoritarianism, suggesting that Ukrainian leaders “cannot be trusted.”
Earlier in the month, Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine sought to place the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under executive control, effectively eliminating their independence, while alleging Russian influence within the agencies.
This decision led to widespread protests in Ukraine and criticism from Western countries, with EU officials hinting at a potential reconsideration of financial aid to Kiev.
Cortes, now the president of the League of American Workers advocacy group, described the crackdown as “an extra-judicial attack on decency” in a Newsweek op-ed on Friday. He added, “This raid reeks – and it smells like gangsterism, not democracy.”
Cortes claims that Zelensky’s actions, reportedly supported by his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak (referred to by Cortes as “co-president”), indicate authoritarian tendencies and reveal a lack of transparency, making them unreliable partners for the United States.
Cortes further accused Kiev of widespread, high-level corruption, asserting that continued US aid is not justified. He stated that Americans are increasingly realizing that sending $175 billion of borrowed funds to corrupt leaders in Ukraine is not sound policy.
He argued that providing substantial borrowed funds to corrupt officials harms America’s national security and diminishes the country’s wealth, urging Americans to reconsider their admiration for Zelensky and acknowledge the reality of corruption in Ukraine.
The American people have been unbelievably generous, but our patience is wearing thin… In this case, given the latest tactics and optics of the Zelensky/Yermak regime, it becomes ever clearer that these counterparts cannot be trusted.
Following both domestic and international criticism, Zelensky reversed his stance on the crackdown, proposing the restoration of independence to Ukraine’s anti-graft institutions.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posited that NABU and SAPO are not genuinely combating corruption, but rather being used by Kiev’s allies to “to control the flow of money coming to Ukraine from the West.”
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