Trump Lashes Out at His Former Ambassador to Ukraine
Published in El Periódico
(Spain) on 15 November 2019
by (link to original)
Marie Yovanovich puts the president on the spot for his “shady interests.” The diplomat’s testimony fueled suspicions about the investigation into Joseph Biden, Trump’s campaign opponent.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified on Friday that Washington’s policy concerning Ukraine “has been thrown into disarray” because of the actions of President Donald Trump. “Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray, and shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want,” Yovanovitch said during the second public hearing of the House impeachment inquiry.
Yovanovitch, who headed the U.S. embassy in Kyiv from 2016 until last May, when she was removed by Trump, drew attention to the “degradation of the Foreign Service over the past few years.” In October, the American press reported that Trump ordered Yovanovitch’s removal last spring, after months of complaints from his associates outside the administration, such as his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
Trade-offs
During the hearing, which was broadcast live to the whole country, Yovanovitch stated that she felt “shocked, appalled,” when she learned about Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which the U.S. leader called her “bad news.”
Several witnesses in the House impeachment investigation into Trump have affirmed that the White House’s release of $400 million in military aid to Ukraine was conditional on a commitment by Ukraine to investigate the former vice president and current aspiring Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, something that Trump denies.
Response via Twitter
Trump was quick to respond on social media to the heavy attack coming from his former ambassador. In fact, he shot back almost immediately, suggesting that he is following the live public hearings. “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him,” Trump posted on his Twitter account.
“I think the effect is to be intimidating,” replied Yovanovitch when Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, informed her of Trump’s words via Twitter. Furthermore, the Democratic representative warned that Trump’s messages constituted “witness intimidation in real time.”
Another Serious Blow
The former ambassador’s appearance was not the only bad news for Trump. Also on Friday, a federal jury in Washington found Roger Stone guilty of the charges he faced – Stone being one of the president’s closest associates – in a case related to the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 American election.
At 67 years old, Stone is facing 50 years in prison for the seven charges against him —among them lying to Congress — although a light sentence is to be expected, since this is his first offense.
According to prosecutors, the Republican strategist acted as a link between the 2016 Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks platform, which released emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee that were “damaging” to the campaign of the party’s presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified on Friday that Washington’s policy concerning Ukraine “has been thrown into disarray” because of the actions of President Donald Trump. “Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray, and shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want,” Yovanovitch said during the second public hearing of the House impeachment inquiry.
Yovanovitch, who headed the U.S. embassy in Kyiv from 2016 until last May, when she was removed by Trump, drew attention to the “degradation of the Foreign Service over the past few years.” In October, the American press reported that Trump ordered Yovanovitch’s removal last spring, after months of complaints from his associates outside the administration, such as his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
Trade-offs
During the hearing, which was broadcast live to the whole country, Yovanovitch stated that she felt “shocked, appalled,” when she learned about Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which the U.S. leader called her “bad news.”
Several witnesses in the House impeachment investigation into Trump have affirmed that the White House’s release of $400 million in military aid to Ukraine was conditional on a commitment by Ukraine to investigate the former vice president and current aspiring Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, something that Trump denies.
Response via Twitter
Trump was quick to respond on social media to the heavy attack coming from his former ambassador. In fact, he shot back almost immediately, suggesting that he is following the live public hearings. “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him,” Trump posted on his Twitter account.
“I think the effect is to be intimidating,” replied Yovanovitch when Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, informed her of Trump’s words via Twitter. Furthermore, the Democratic representative warned that Trump’s messages constituted “witness intimidation in real time.”
Another Serious Blow
The former ambassador’s appearance was not the only bad news for Trump. Also on Friday, a federal jury in Washington found Roger Stone guilty of the charges he faced – Stone being one of the president’s closest associates – in a case related to the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 American election.
At 67 years old, Stone is facing 50 years in prison for the seven charges against him —among them lying to Congress — although a light sentence is to be expected, since this is his first offense.
According to prosecutors, the Republican strategist acted as a link between the 2016 Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks platform, which released emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee that were “damaging” to the campaign of the party’s presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Previous article![]( "Will Trump Survive?")
Next article![]( "Upright Officials Defend America’s Values against Trump")