Open hearing on the impeachment of trump: testimony of former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Jovanovic

The House Intelligence Committee held its second public hearing as part of its investigation into the possible impeachment of US President Donald Trump. The hearings were open and broadcast live by several American television channels. Today the focus is on the testimony of Marie Yovanovitch, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, writes “Voice of America«.

Jovanovic was sent resigned as head of the US diplomatic mission in Kiev in May. Democrats claim that Jovanovic became a victim the campaign, organized by Rudi Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, who tried to convince the Ukrainian authorities to start investigations against Joe Biden, a political opponent of Donald Trump, and his son Hunter, who was on the board of directors of the Ukrainian company Burisma.

“The powers of the president are enormous, but they are not absolute, and cannot be used for corrupt purposes. The American people expect the president to use the power granted to him for the good of the country, and not to destroy other people for their personal or political interests, ”said Adam Schiff, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, opening the hearing with Marie Yovanovitch.

On the subject: New US Ambassador to Ukraine: Who is Marie Yovanovitch

Ambassador Jovanovic, as Schiff noted in his official statement, served the US interests in the fight against corruption in Ukraine, and it became an obstacle "on the way to promoting the personal and political agenda of the president." That is why, Schiff said, she lost her diplomatic post.

Devin Nunes, the chief Republican congressman on the Intelligence Committee, read out the text of the first telephone conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky on April 15, published by the White House on Friday, November 21.

According to conversation transcript, Donald Trump back in April, congratulating Zelensky on a bright election victory, invited him to visit the White House. This, in particular, was stressed by Congressman Nunes.

Responding to questions from lawmakers, Marie Jovanovic noted that her consistent support for the fight against corruption was hostile to some corrupt Ukrainian politicians, such as former Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko. She also noted that as the US ambassador to Ukraine did not have any direct or indirect contacts with Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

Speaking at the hearing, Marie Jovanovic said that not all Ukrainians positively accepted the anti-corruption work carried out by the United States in Ukraine.

“It is not surprising that when our anti-corruption efforts interfered in some way [with someone’s] desire to make a profit or gain power, the Ukrainians, who preferred to play by the old, corrupt rules, wanted to remove me. What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to work with them. Working together, they obviously succeeded in organizing the removal of the US ambassador, ”said Jovanovic.

On the subject: Scandal with the US ambassador to Ukraine: more and more politicians are calling for dismissal of Jovanovic

“It’s still hard for me to realize that foreign and private interests were able to undermine US interests ... These events should concern everyone who is now in this room. Ambassadors symbolize the United States abroad, they are personal representatives of the president, ”added Jovanovic.

“If our chief representative is defeated, it limits our effectiveness in safeguarding the vital national security interests of the United States. This is especially important now that the international situation is more complex and more competitive than it has ever been since the collapse of the Soviet Union, ”the ex-ambassador said.

Donald Trump tweeted Jovanovic’s testimony in the House of Representatives, negatively describing her work in the diplomatic department.

“Everywhere where Marie Jovanovic [turned out], everything went badly. She started in Somalia - what happened there? Then we will be transferred to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian president unfavorably spoke about her during my second telephone conversation with him. The US president has the absolute right to appoint ambassadors, ”Trump recalled.

Immediately after the president tweeted negatively at Jovanovic, chairman of the Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff suggested Trump was trying to “scare the witness.”

“Ambassador, you have shown courage by coming here today to testify. Despite the fact that the White House and the State Department warned you not to do this ... And now the president is attacking you in real time. What do you think, how can this affect the willingness of other witnesses to come here to expose the offenses? ”Schiff addressed Jovanovic during the hearing.

“This is very scary,” said the ex-ambassador. “I mean, I can't say what the president is trying to do, but I think ... it's an attempt to intimidate,” cited Jovanovic CNN Channel.

On the subject: To bribe Biden: how the authorities in Ukraine have corrupted the American democrats and influenced the US elections in favor of Clinton

Louis Homer, Texas Republican legislator, in an interview with CNN saidthat Adam Schiff relies on “gossipers” to select witnesses to testify at the hearing. Responding to a CNN question about whether he considers Jovanovic a reliable witness, Homert said:

“I do not consider her testimony relevant - to impeachment, to the removal of the president. What she felt was not a violation leading to impeachment, it was not relevant. If we had real hearings, with real evidence, this would not even go to trial, ”the Republican said.

After the Democrats, including Adam Schiff, called the president’s tweet about Jovanovic an attempt to “intimidate witnesses,” the White House officially commented on the situation.

“The tweet was not intimidation of witnesses, it was just the opinion of the president, to which he has the right. This is not a trial, this is a one-party political process - or, more precisely, an absolutely illegitimate farce against the president, ”said a statement by Stephanie Grisham, White House spokeswoman. She called the impeachment investigation "real shame."

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• In June 2016, the White House announced the official nomination of a diplomat Marie Yovanovitch to the post of United States Ambassador to Ukraine. Who is she and what did she plan to do at the time she took office - Read here.
• Calls for the removal of Jovanovic intensified after 20 in March, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said in an interview with The Hill that launched an investigation into members of law enforcement countries as to whether leak of financial reports of the Party of Regions in 2016 about deals with the then head of Trump's campaign headquarters, Paul Manafort, deliberate, and whether the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies were trying to influence the US presidential campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton in this way.
• Lutsenko claimed that Jovanovic gave him a list of people whom he should not pursue, and refused to cooperate in the investigation of the misappropriation of American financial assistance in Ukraine. The embassy denied such allegations. Later, Lutsenko admitted that Jovanovic did not give him a "list of untouchables"for which allegedly it was impossible to initiate an investigation, although he had previously stated the opposite.
• President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in this situation sided with Marie Yovanovitch, expressing his full support for the US ambassador to Ukraine and satisfaction with the strategic partnership with the United States. And there are reasons for this. We wrote in detail about how the authorities in Ukraine corrupted the American democrats and influenced the US election in favor of Clinton.
• 20 March, former US Attorney Joe DiJenova announces need for Hannity Fox News interview remove Jovanovic from his position because of her actions to “undermine the credibility” of the Trump administration.
• He also asked that Pete Sessions (a Republican from Texas), who at that time served as chairman of the Rules Committee, wrote about the dismissal of Jovanovic back in 2018, who at that time wrote personal letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with a request to withdraw Jovanovic, arguing that she made scornful statements about President Trump.
• On September 20, the congressmen became interested in a telephone conversation between President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump as part of an investigation into whether Trump and his lawyer Rudolf Giuliani tried put pressure on Ukraine in order to help Trump's election campaign in 2020 year.
• Democrats announce formal request for US impeachment, which was triggered by a conversation between Ukrainian and American leaders.
• US Department of State published conversation transcript President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and President of the United States Donald Trump.
• 9 October in the White House officially announced refusal to cooperate with the investigation on the possibility of declaring impeachment to US President Donald Trump, which is held by Democrats in the House of Representatives. The presidential administration considers these accusations to be "baseless" and "unconstitutional."
• 31 October US House of Representatives approved the resolutionaccording to which the investigation into the possibility of impeachment to US President Donald Trump goes to the public stage.
• 13 November US House of Representatives launched an open hearing as part of an investigation into impeachment against President Donald Trump. 10 TV channels broadcast the meeting, 13,8 million Americans watched this broadcast.

Read also on ForumDaily:

13,8 million Americans watch the broadcast of the hearing on the impeachment of trump

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The White House published a transcript of Trump's first conversation with Zelensky: what the presidents talked about

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