Former White House adviser objected to ambassador's ouster
Source: Associated Press
Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael Balsamo, Associated Pres
Updated 12:14 am CDT, Tuesday, October 15, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser on Russia, told House impeachment investigators behind closed doors Monday that she had strongly and repeatedly objected to the ouster earlier this year of former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, according to a person familiar with the testimony.
Yovanovitch testified Friday that President Donald Trump pressured the State Department to fire her.
Hill made the remarks as she testified for more than 10 hours in the Democratic inquiry, which is probing Trump's pleas to Ukrainian officials for investigations into political rival Joe Biden's family and into the country's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. The person requested anonymity to discuss the confidential interview.
The interview is one of what could eventually become dozens of closed-door depositions in the impeachment probe. There are five more scheduled this week, mostly with State Department officials, though it is unclear if they will all appear after Trump declared he wouldn't cooperate with the probe.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Ambassador-expected-to-testify-key-assurance-was-14519361.php
