They said the “next flight” to return from Kiev to the United States: the ambassador testifies to Congress contrary to the White House ban

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch spoke on Friday at closed hearings in Congress as part of the investigation into the scandal, which in the American capital was nicknamed “Ukrainegate”.

Even on Friday morning in Washington, they were not sure that Jovanovic would nevertheless decide to address the legislators, writes Air Force

A few days earlier, the White House issued a special statement stating that none of the current U.S. administration officials would cooperate with Congress in investigations into the impeachment process of President Donald Trump.

Jovanovic left her post in Kiev in May this year, at the personal request of the head of the White House, who accused her of disloyalty. However, she continues to be an employee of the State Department, and, according to the rules, must obey all the orders of the administration.

In her opening remarks, the former ambassador accused the Trump administration of Washington's foreign policy being based on "protecting the private interests" of individuals. Their influence, she said, has already led to many career diplomats leaving the State Department.

Yovanovitch called her resignation “incredible and suspicious,” adding that she was fired “on the basis of... unfounded and far-fetched accusations from people who were guided by suspicious motives.”

The former ambassador said that accusations of her “disloyalty” to the president were spread by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani and members of his inner circle.

“I don’t know for what reasons Mr. Giuliani decided to declare war on me,” Yovanovitch said. “Perhaps the people associated with him believed that their personal financial ambitions would suffer because of the anti-corruption policies we pursued in Ukraine.”

On Thursday the American authorities withannounced the arrest of businessmen Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas. The entrepreneurs were considered “personal friends” of Rudolph Giuliani, and, according to investigators, took an active part in the campaign to remove Yovanovitch from her post as ambassador.

At the hearing, the diplomat stated that she had never met businessmen and had talked with Giuliani no more than three times on topics not related to the fight against corruption in Ukraine.

According to her, in March of this year, the State Department asked her to continue working in Ukraine until 2020, but two months later she received an order to hand over her affairs and fly to Washington “on the next flight.”

After returning to the American capital, one of the deputy secretaries of state explained to the diplomat that this decision was made personally by the US president.

“He said that Trump had lost confidence in me and no longer wanted me to continue serving as ambassador,” Yovanovitch said.

What about the current head of the US Embassy in Ukraine, William Taylor?

According to Voice of America The House of Representatives of the US Congress called to testify William Taylor, US Chargé d'Affaires in Ukraine.

Congressmen want to hear his testimony as part of an investigation into the impeachment of Donald Trump. However, a specific date for giving certificates has not yet been appointed.

However, diplomats who worked with the ambassador suggest: if Taylor had to choose between that, testify before Congress or remain in the post of US top diplomat in Ukraine, he would choose the latter.

The fact that William Taylor has information about the delay in providing weapons to Ukraine and the White House policy in this has become known after the testimony of former US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Walker. The House of Representatives has published the correspondence of American diplomats and adviser to Vladimir Zelensky, Andrei Yermak.

William Taylor also took part in the conversation. Then he wrote to the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland: “As I said on the phone, I think it is crazy to refuse military assistance for the sake of helping a political campaign.”

Despite the White House ban, US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, who was directly involved in the preparation of the scandalous, should testify in Congress next week telephone conversation between Trump and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.

Legislators are also planning to speak with a former senior official of the US National Security Council, Fiona Hill, who was responsible for the White House policy on Russia.

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 the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said in an interview with The Hill on 20 in March 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 intentional and whether Ukrainian law enforcement agencies tried 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 investigating the misappropriation of American financial assistance to 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 asking him to recall Jovanovic, arguing that she made scornful statements about President Trump.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Poll: more than half of voters support Trump's impeachment

Giuliani publishes 'evidence' of Ukraine’s interference in US 2016 election

14 hours without a break: what Zelensky said during a record press conference

US convicted businessman from Russia to finance election intervention

The White House refused to cooperate with Congress to impeach trump

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