During impeachment testimony of Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker, Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup tried to normalize Rudy Giuliani’s shadow foreign policy in Ukraine by favorably comparing it to other unofficial diplomatic efforts, among them Dennis Rodman’s bizarre, North Korean propaganda visits with Kim Jong un.

In a transparent effort to explain President Donald Trump’s overt attempt to insert his own personal attorney into US foreign policy efforts in Ukraine, Wenstrup pushed Volker to acknowledge that such an unorthodox move could be helpful.

“In some ways you have to work sometimes through any means available,” Wenstrup offered. “And that might include working with Rudy Giuliani if he could be helpful to you to get that message and advice to the president, would that be correct?”

Volker, whose past testimony expressed his serious misgivings about the misinformation Giuliani was feeding to Trump about the Bidens, did not agree.

“I believe the messages being conveyed by Mr. Giuliani were a problem,” Volker said. “They were — they were at variance with our official message to the president was and not conveying that positive assessment that we all had, and so I thought it was important to try to step in and fix the problem.”

“And in that, I think, your term that a useful barometer of where things were?” Wenstrup responded.

“Yes.” Volker replied.

“There are useful barometers in covering a lot of different fashions,, like Dennis Rodman in North Korea or James Taylor in France singing ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ if they can help a cause,” Wenstrup claimed, before quickly wrapping up without bothering to hear Volker’s response. “And in that situation, it’s not illegal. Good job, Ambassador. Thank you very much.”

Wenstrup’s favorably comparing Giuliani’s backchannel dealings in Ukraine to Rodman’s four trips to North Korea has a surreal quality to it. Rodman has been roundly condemned for acquiescing to numerous, propaganda photo ops with North Korean dictator Kim Jong un and adamantly refusing to apologize for his “friend,” prompting critics to bash him as the tyrant’s “little bitch,” who is working at cross purposes with official US policy toward the country.

Watch the video above, via CNN.

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