Somalia. As if this is another step by the president to intimidate witnesses. He did not intimidate to you. You are here. You have endured. There are other people out there that can expect this before treatment if they come forward. That is a question for us. You also indicated that the president has a prerogative to appoint a noncareer person, and to be candid, republican president s and democratic president s have done that. Mr. Sondlands transcript is out, and he was someone who indicated that everything hinged, the white house meeting and the release of the vital
defensive aid, everything hinged on the president president zelensky being able to do that election that would benefit the trump campaign. You are aware of that . Yes. And you have indicated that would be something that you would not agree to do . Yes. And sondland was quite willing to do . Apparently so. I think you for your professional service and a yield back. Ambassador yovanovitch, thank you for being here. It has been a long day. The first time we met it was not clear, so i want to start with a quick comment. Your testimony in this inquiry broke the dam. You are the one who first threw that stone wall that the president was trying to set up. And i just want to thank you for that. Because others have followed your example. There is an old expression that the first person through the wall gets a little bit body. And i think you must understand that expression in a new way. But thank you. Thank you. I want to ask you about the day that you were let go. And i know this is a painful series of events, but apri april 24th, and you told us a few things that really stuck with me. You said you were at the embassy in ukraine, you are honoring a ukrainian woman, anticorruption activist, i believe her name is kateryna handziuk. Giving her the woman of courage award . Correct. Did you know carol perez . Yes. Youre both the senior women of service, you had an opportunity to meet her before . Yes. And she says there is trouble coming come i want to give you a heads up. Correct me if i am wrong. But coming from the white house,
i will call you later. That sums it up. But literally that evening honoring this anticorruption activist, is that right . Yes yes. Not just any woman, a woman who is horribly attacked and killed for her efforts, and she was not just killed, you said that she i believe that someone threw acid on her . That is correct. And i went and i checked during the break, and it turns out she was horribly injured, and it took four months for her to die, is that correct . A very painful death. Why would Somebody Attack her with acid . There are easier ways to kill people, why did they do it with acid . They wanted her out of the way, but the message was that this could happen to you too if you continue her work. Thats what happens when you go up against corrupt people in the ukraine . It is something that can happen. There are other ways of sidelining people. Do you are a Member Speaking at that event . I do. I looked at what you said. You said kateryna paid the ultimate price in fighting against corruption and building a democratic process for ukraine. Do you remember saying that . Yes. Than your phone rings and you hear trouble up the street. And carol perez called you again that night . It was 1 00 a. M. , right . Were you sleeping . No. You stayed up to get the phone call . Yes. She says two things that really stuck with me. She said we are worried about your security . Yes. You adjustment honoring a woman who was killed for fighting anticorruption efforts, and she said you need to get on the next plane, was she speaking euphemistically . Could get on the next plane, or did she mean the next plane . I think she meant as soon as possible. But pretty much it was the next plane. That is a pretty good flight back from kiev to washington in your meeting with secretary sullivan. And he says two things. There was a concerted effort against you, and he says you have done nothing wrong. Right. And what i am fascinating about is when he said you did nothing wrong, what did you expect the United States government would do next . You know, it was pretty clear that a decision had been made by the president , implemented by the State Department that i had to leave ukraine, but i coming in no, i had hoped that there would be more public support. Did you expect them to have your back . Yes. Were you surprised when they were going to . Not at that point anymore. Why . Well, because over the last several months that i not been the case. Maam, in your Opening Statement you said, how could our system feel like this . How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government . How could the system feel like this, how is it that foreign corrupt interest could manipulate our government . I want you to know, maam, that is the very question we are determined to get an answer for. And i want to thank you on behalf of your country for your service and with our work and answering that question. I go back back, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you so much, mr. Chairman. Ambassador, everyone in this room should be thankful for your service. I have four little girls and my work life, as i am thinking about them as a woman, i could not be prouder of you. And i consider yourself an inspiration for women Around The World. I just want to say before i get
in to my questioning, i think it is disgraceful to hear my colleagues refer to your sworn testimony as a Performance Today or speak in a condescending way basically suggesting that the woman, because i think thats how the president referred to you, im not sure he knows your name or if there is some other meaning they are, but basically suggests that the woman should be thankful for whatever she was left with. A Smear Campaign and all after you were recalled. Thank you for your service, your 33 years of service. Ambassador on the press Conference Call october 17, acting white house Chief Of Staff mulvaney expressed his belief that it is entirely appropriate to politicize u. S. Foreign policy. Heres what he said. If you read the news reports and you believe them, what did mckinley say yesterday . Well, mckinley said yesterday that he was really upset with the political influence in Foreign Policy. That was one of the reasons he was so upset about this. And i have news for everybody, get over it there is going to be political influence in Foreign Policy. Ambassador yovanovitch, do you share the concern raised by ambassador mckinley in testimony before this committee about political influence in Foreign Policy . Well, as i said before. It is important to keep political influence out of Foreign Policy, because we all, whether we are republican or democrat or Something Else have Common Security interests, and that needs to be safeguarded and advanced. And what message do you think it sends to other Foreign Service officers and Public Service, which we so desperately
need good ones when an administration refuses to support its own officials . In the face of a Smear Campaign. Well, it is deeply troubling. It is deeply troubling. And there are morale issues at the State Department. Morale issues at the State Department. I can understand why. On march 20th of 2019, President Trump we did an article that included a letter from representative Pete Sessions that said that you had spoken privately and repeatedly about your disdain for the Current Administration in a way that might call for the expulsion of you as you ambassador to ukraine immediately. Did you speak publicly and privately about your disdain for the Trump Administration . No. Why do you think the president will want to push such a lie . I dont know. I dont know. Policies change, but to u. S. Interests dont. Not for those who are seeking to do the work of protecting our nation. The work that you have done for decades. The president , his Chief Of Staff, and his allies seem to want nothing more than to smear the good people trying to protect this country. And to hijack our institutions for the personal and political gain. Again, ambassador, we thank you so much for your service. And i will yield my remaining time to the chairman. Thank you. I think the general woman. Im going to go to mr. Krishnamurthy. Good afternoon, ambassador, and think into the family as well for being here in support of you today, i would like to direct you to an area of bipartisanship, namely aid to the ukraine. Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis appropriating
hundreds of millions of dollars in Military Assistance to the ukraine, correct . Yes. That aid is being used by ukraine to fight a common adversary, namely russia, right . Yes. To speak of the u. S. Has consistently partnered with other European Countries to keep russia at bay and maintain the peace in europe, right . Yes. As ambassador taylor suggested earlier this week, supporting the ukraine helps maintain peace so that americans do not have to go to war again in europe, right . Yes. Suspending that aid and weakening ukraine can increase the likelihood of the opposite, correct . Yes, it is extremely shortsighted. The last time you are in ukraine was may 20th of this year, right . Yes. In his Opening Statement, ambassador taylor said he took charge of ukraine in june 17th. Therefore there was almost a one
month gap between the time you departed and when taylor took over, right . Yes. During that time on may 20th ambassador sondland, rick perry and others came to the inauguration of president zelensky, right . Yes. And during that gap in time, ambassador sondland visited the white house along with others and got directions from President Trump to talk to rudy. Those were his words, talk to rudy about what to do in ukraine, right . That is my understanding. In other words, isnt it the case that your departure, and the one month gap between the time that you left and when ambassador taylor arrived provided the perfect opportunity for another group of people to basically take over ukraine policy, isnt that right . Yes. Ambassador, youre going to have to speak a little bit louder into the microphone. Yes. Thank you. On page 10 of your Opening Statement, you mention corrupt interests apparently hijacking the ukraine policy, right . Yes. A couple of the suspect individuals in that regard yes. You mention earlier that you learn that they were attempting to open a Liquefied Natural Gas company, right . Yes. How did you learn that . I heard that from the minister of interior. Interesting at noon today the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors in manhattan are investigating whether Rudy Giuliani stood to personally profit from that Liquefied Natural Gas venture. Do you have any knowledge of that . No, i do not. Maybe we should talk to rudy, huh . Ambassador, i would like to direct you to another line of questioning that i had for ambassador taylor. He said that there were Irregular Channels of diplomacy that work in Ukraine Circumventing normal diplomatic channels and threatening american interests in favor of private interests. I asked him the question, can you rule out the possibility that these Irregular Channels of diplomacy are being used in other countries where we conduct Foreign Policy . In response he said he could not rule it out. Ambassador yovanovitch, i ask you, and i assume that you cannot rule it out either, correct . I cant, but i would add that i have no knowledge of that. I understand. Are you concerned that these Irregular Channels of diplomacy may be at work elsewhere . I think it is a possibility. You testified that it was a dangerous precedent that private interest in people who do not like a particular ambassador could combine to replace that ambassador. Are you concerned that other ambassadors may suffer the same fate as you . Yes. Ambassador, as her service as an american diplomat, you have encountered various dictators and strongmen rolling other countries, right . Yes. In your personal life, your parents fled the soviet union and nazi germany, and they became familiar with dictators as well, correct . Yes. You are an authority on authoritarianism, right . Well, maybe. Is it a future of authoritarianism to allow corrupt interest to hijack Foreign Policy . Yes. Is it a feature of authoritarianism for the rulers they are to claim absolute rights . Yes. And is it a hallmark of authoritarianism for those rulers to smear their opponents . Sometimes, yes. Thank you. Speak of the time of the gentleman has expired, mr. Nunez, if you have any concluding remarks . I would just say to the American People todays show trial has come to an end. We are headed down now to the basement of the capital to go until, i dont know what time, we will be back there hiding again behind the closed doors interviewing more witnesses that you may or may not be able to see in the public. I hate to break it to my colleagues if there is anyone else out there watching television ratings, but they must be plummeting right now, and i would suggest that we get back to the work of the Intelligence Committee that we pass a Trade Agreement with the United States and mexico and canada that would help the American People out, because this is an embarrassment. I yield back. Mr. Chairman, can i be recognized for emotion . No, i have some concluding remarks. Ambassador, i want to thank you for your decades of service. I want to thank you as mr. Maloney said for being the first one through the gap. What you did in coming forward and answering a lawful subpoena was to give courage to other that also witness wrongdoing, that they too could show the same courage that you have that they could stand up, speak out, answer questions, they could endure what ever threats, insults may come their way. So in your long and distinguished career, you have done another great Public Service in answering the call of our subpoena, and testifying before us today. I think you
think you gathered from our comments that we not only understand what you went through, but what damage is being done to the State Department, to career federal Foreign Service officers around the country. I am profoundly grateful to you and mr. Kent and ambassador taylor who have done so much in the last two days, three days to show the American People the face of our diplomatic corps. The extraordinary Public Servants who work all Around The World in very dangerous places of you as you have. Im glad that they have gone to see you, because you are often vilified as bureaucrats or diplomacy is diminished as unimportant. Anything other than military does not matter. When it is your efforts that often prevent us from going to war. Sometimes you are disparaged as the deep state. But what you are is what holds this country together. What holds our Foreign Policy together, what makes it seamless, what makes it work. And im glad america gets to see that. I will just emphasize once again about the importance of your testimony. Mr. Kent and ambassador taylor gave us the broad outlines of the story. This is a story about an effort to coerce, condition, or bribe a foreign country into doing the dirty work of the president. Investigations of his political rival. By conditioning u. S. Taxpayer money, by Conditioning A meeting that president zelensky desperately wanted and needed to establish the relation of the United States of america. The fact that they failed in this solicitation of bribery
does not make it any less bribery, does not make it any less immoral or corrupt, it just means it was unsuccessful. Into that we owe other dedicated Public Servants who blew the whistle. Had they not blown the whistle, we would not be here. And i think it is appalling that my colleagues continue to want to out this whistleblower so that he or she can be punished by this president. But lets underscore once again, while at the beginning of the story, you are not the of it. But the beginning is important, because the beginning of the story is an effort to get to you out of the way. An effort by Rudy Giuliani and through parnas and people like lutsenko to get you out of the way, because they thought you were an impediment to the investigations that the
president so desperately wanted. Giuliani has made it abundantly clear that he was in ukraine for the president to investigate the bidens and you are viewed as an obstacle that had to go. Not just by giuliani, but by the president of the United States. If any one had any doubt about it, they should do with the president asks, read the transcript. What they will see in that transcript is