Michele Kelemen
Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
As Diplomatic Correspondent, Kelemen has traveled with Secretaries of State from Colin Powell to Mike Pompeo and everyone in between. She reports on the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy and before that the Obama and Bush administration's diplomatic agendas. She was part of the NPR team that won the 2007 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for coverage of the war in Iraq.
As NPR's Moscow bureau chief, Kelemen chronicled the end of the Yeltsin era and Vladimir Putin's consolidation of power. She recounted the terrible toll of the latest war in Chechnya, while also reporting on a lighter side of Russia, with stories about modern day Russian literature and sports.
Kelemen came to NPR in September 1998, after eight years working for the Voice of America. There, she learned the ropes as a news writer, newscaster and show host.
Michele earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Russian and East European Affairs and International Economics.
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Russia expert Fiona Hill testifies in the impeachment hearing Thursday. In her deposition, she warned Republicans against "going down a rabbit hole" and falling prey to Russian disinformation.
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The diplomat will be the sole witness Friday, the second day of public testimony in the impeachment inquiry. State Department colleagues say she was removed after a slander campaign by Rudy Giuliani. -
Acting Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent took copious notes about the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine. They'll testify publicly Wednesday.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has tried to stay out of the limelight in the impeachment inquiry, but as deposition transcripts are released, his role is coming into sharper focus.
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The House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Trump have released the transcript of their interview with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
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The impeachment investigation has led to a growing number of public servants looking for lawyers as they try to abide by conflicting instructions from the White House and Congress.
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In written testimony to Congress, Taylor said he "became increasingly concerned" about informal policymaking, driven by Rudy Giuliani, that diverged from official U.S. policy on Ukraine. -
Every administration uses ambassadorships to reward big political donors. But unlike other political appointees, donors don't always have strong resumes in business politics and foreign affairs.
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President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton reportedly was trying to caution others about Rudy Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine. Giuliani is Trump's personal attorney.
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Volker, who was named in a whistleblower complaint about President Trump's contact with Ukraine, resigned as U.S. special envoy to the country last week and is being deposed on Thursday.
