5 key things we learned from Marie Yovanovitch's impeachment testimony today.
Later, Nunes and Steve Castor, the counsel for the GOP members of the committee, repeatedly pointed out that Yovanovitch had been recalled from her post in Kyiv before the July 25 call between Trump and Zelenskiy and before military aid was frozen. Therefore, as Nunes said, she was “not a material fact witness.”
During questioning, Republicans also frequently used the fact that she’d landed a fellowship at Georgetown University after her recall as proof that any sympathy for her is misplaced.Yovanovitch — with the aid of some of the Democrats questioning her — significantly expounded on her view that Russia stood to be the biggest beneficiary of the Trump administration’s dealings in Ukraine.
“We see the potential in Ukraine. Russia, by contrast, sees the risk,” she said. “Ukraine is a battleground for great power competition, with a hot war for the control of territory and a hybrid war to control Ukraine’s leadership.” The potential benefit to Russia is two-fold, she explained. Withholding security assistance, she said, painted a picture to Moscow that the U.S. may not be the staunch ally of Russia’s vulnerable neighbor it has signaled it would be. And at the same time, she said, allowing corruption to fester in Ukraine — including empowering officials there to get the White House to remove an ambassador — also makes the nation vulnerable to Russian influence.
“Corruption is also a security issue, because corrupt officials are vulnerable to Moscow. In short, it is in America’s national security interest to help Ukraine transform into a country where the rule of law governs and corruption is held in check,” she said, before directly fingering Vladimir Putin as a beneficiary of the administration’s actions in Ukraine.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump impeachment inquiry: Marie Yovanovitch testifies, watch live
Read more »
Impeachment: Marie Yovanovitch symbolizes State Department revolt
Read more »
Meet Marie Yovanovitch, the ambassador at the center of the Ukraine controversyFormer US Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will testify publicly on Capitol Hill as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Follow here for the latest.
Read more »
Watch: Marie Yovanovitch testifies in round two of the Trump impeachment hearingsMarie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who said President Donald Trump urged the State Department to remove her from her role, will testify Friday in the second round of public impeachment hearings.
Read more »