Impeachment Day Two:
Former Ambassador Unconcerned by Ukrainian Efforts to Sway 2016 Election
Adam Mill
- November 15th, 2019
The House Intelligence Committee on Friday continued its impeachment inquiry with the public testimony of Marie Yovanovitch, former ambassador to Ukraine. The hearing began with opening statements from both committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Schiff and Daniel Goldman, Democratic counsel, then asked questions regarding the circumstances of her May 2019 removal from her post.
Yovanovitch described her perception that corrupt Ukrainian officials leveraged their relationship with the president’s private attorney, Rudy Giuliani in a “smear†campaign leading to her ultimate dismissal. She was unable, however, to cite much first-hand knowledge to support these perceptions.
Yovanovitch was succeeded by William Taylor, who testified earlier in the week. Yovanovitch was also acquainted with George Kent, the third witness so far to testify in the impeachment inquiry.
Yovanovitch said she had no first-hand information concerning the July 25 phone call between President Trump and the president of Ukraine. She indicated that she first learned of the phone call from Kent.
During her testimony, the president issued a tweet critical of Yovanovitch. Schiff characterized the tweet as “witness intimidation.â€
In response to questions from Nunes, Yovanovitch admitted she knew little or nothing of the president’s phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. She testified she was not involved in the temporary hold on military aid at issue. Nunes then questioned whether she had any relevance at all to the inquiry.
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