Ex-Ukraine Ambassador Testifies in Congress; Trump Engages in Potential Witness Intimidation

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https://newsnotpolitics.com/2019/11/16/ex-ukraine-ambassador-testifies-in-impeachment-inquiry/

Ex-Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified on Friday before the House Intelligence Committee in Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump.

In an extraordinary turn of events, the President sent a disparaging tweet regarding Yovanovitch, who was read the tweet in real-time during her testimony and characterized the tweet as “intimidating.”

Yovanovitch gave testimony about the circumstances of her ouster in May 2019, which Democrats argued was necessary to clear the way for Rudy Giuliani and others to run a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine.

Republicans attempted to mount a defense that emphasized the President’s power to appoint and remove officials without cause, but Trump’s tweet threw those preparations into disarray.

NNP Quote: “Ambassadors are the symbol of the United States abroad, the personal representatives of the President. They should always act and speak with full authority to advocate for U.S. policies. If our chief representative is kneecapped, it limits our effectiveness to safeguard the vital national security interests of the United States…After these events, what foreign official, corrupt or not, could be blamed for wondering whether the Ambassador represents the President’s views?” – Opening Statement of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

NNP Background: Prior to the events forming the core of the Ukraine quid pro quo scandal, Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was recalled back to Washington. She was the target of a concerted smear campaign led by Rudy Giuliani and others, with the ultimate goal of seeking her ouster.

In light of the subsequent efforts of Giuliani, EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to run an alternative foreign policy track dealing with Ukraine, it appears that Yovanovitch represented an impediment to this “shadow” foreign policy and was targeted for removal from her post.

To get both perspectives on these events, we analyzed an article from a left-leaning media source and an article from a right-leaning media source below!

https://newsnotpolitics.com/2019/11/16/ex-ukraine-ambassador-testifies-in-impeachment-inquiry/