MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As the Senate lurched toward a vote to acquit President Donald Trump on impeachment charges, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played clean-up in the country at the center of the inquiry on Friday.
Visiting Ukraine, Pompeo denied the main allegations that prompted the investigation, contradicting witness testimony that Trump withheld critical military aid and a coveted visit to the White House for the nation's leader in exchange for a corruption investigation into a political rival.
In Kyiv, Pompeo also sought to distance himself from heated comments he reportedly made to a radio interviewer last weekend in which he questioned whether Americans actually care about Ukraine. He said Americans value and respect Ukraine as a "bulwark" a