Trump impeachment: Indian-American official named for providing info to Ukraine

New York: An Indian-American White House Official has been enmeshed in the controversy over President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine that is the focus of the impeachment hearings against him.

On Thursday, House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff named Kashyap Patel as a source providing information on Ukraine matters directly to Trump, bypassing the National Security Council (NSC) staffers in-charge of the country's matters, reported IANS.

Patel, who is the senior director of counter terrorism in the NSC, is a political appointee caught in the crossfire between Trump loyalists and those taking on the president.

During the impeachment hearing testimony by Fiona Hill, the former NSC Senior Director dealing with Ukraine, Schiff said, "The indication is that Kash Patel provided some information directly to the president without your knowledge."

Hill said that the person was referred to only as "Kash" and "I had to search my mind. The only Kash I knew at the National Security Agency was Kash Patel."

Schiff asked her if he worked on Ukraine and reported to her, and she replied that Lt Col Alexander Vindman, who testified on earlier, was the director for Ukraine and she did not oversee Patel.

Patel had worked for the Intelligence Committee, when it was controlled by the Republicans and David Nunes was its chair.

Patel was the principal author of a memo issued by Nunes that accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department of bias against Trump and of abusing laws to get warrants to conduct surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.

Patel had earlier worked as a counter-terrorism prosecutor for the Justice Department.