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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump tweeted an attack on the former American ambassador to Ukraine as she was in the middle of testifying in his impeachment probe, prompting her to complain she was being intimidated.
Trump’s tweets came as Marie Yovanovitch testified on the second day of the impeachment hearing. During her opening statement, Yovanovitch said her removal by Trump’s administration played into the hands of “shady interests the world over” with dangerous intentions towards the United States.
Speaking to the House Intelligence Committee, she claimed there was a concerted “smear” campaign against her by Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and others.
Her removal is one of several events at the centre of the impeachment effort.
“These events should concern everyone in this room. Shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want,” Yovanovitch said.
Representative Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the panel, said Yovanovitch, was “too tough on corruption for some, and her principled stance made her enemies”.
It became clear, he said, that “President Trump wanted her gone”.
“As we sit here testifying, the President is attacking you on Twitter and I’d like to give you a chance to respond,” Schiff said to Yovanovitch before reading Trump’s tweets out loud.
Trump tweeted that everywhere Yovanovitch went “turned bad” and suggested that her earlier work as a US diplomat in Somalia was linked to the country’s decades of catastrophic instability.
“I actually think that where I’ve served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better, you know, for the US as well as for the countries that I’ve served in,” Yovanovitch said.
When asked to respond to the tweet Yovanovitch said it was “very intimidating”.
Schiff replied by saying that “some of us here take witness intimidation very seriously”.
‘When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people’
As the hearing was starting, the White House released a rough transcript of an earlier call Trump had with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that was largely congratulatory.
The growing impeachment case against Trump revolves around a later phone call in which the US president asks Zelensky for a “favour” by opening a corruption investigation allegedly aimed at embarrassing his possible 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Unlike that controversial discussion, which took place 25 July, the newly released call, held three months earlier, contains no mention of the Biden family.
Instead, Trump congratulates the just elected Ukrainian president, who in turn tries to persuade his US counterpart to attend the upcoming inauguration.
Trump dangles out the possibility of a later Zelensky visit to the White House and says how much he admires Ukraine, referring to when he owned the Miss Universe franchise.
“When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people,” he said.
Although Trump called the phone log a “transcript,” it is not a verbatim transcription made from a recording, but a reconstruction based on notes taken by staff in the room.
- With reporting from AFP
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That is shocking behaviour by any president but just normal for Trump that it barely registers.
@Craic_a_tower: witness intimidation in itself is probably an impeachable offence.
@Conoroconnor: that’s why Schiff told her, otherwise she wouldn’t have known about the “tweet” until after her hearing.
Didnt Trump say during the week he wasn’t going to watch the coverage, yet here he is tweeting in real time as the hearing happens?
@Conoroconnor: did anybody really believe that. Apart from his brain dead supporters
Schiff is playing to America, Trump is playing to his base… I hope Schiff wins.
He believes his own bulls**t
@Anthony Walsh: that’s the problem:such is the nature of his mental illness he genuinely believes he is a ‘ stable genius’ despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary
@Conoroconnor: where are the botskis willy and john when trump needs them?
Even Fox News expressed shock at the tweet
@Anne Marie Devlin: because even Fox know that Schiff pounced and got on the record in real time that a witness was feeling ‘intimidated’. Trump is actually a master at spin , media and PR and leaves all his political contemporaries in the halfpenny place – but in the realms of political hearings and legalities Schiff can play him like a fiddle….the republicans ( well the adults ) know they have a task trying to defend Trump – they are not going to impeach him in the senate trial no matter what – but he doesn’t help his case much being an idiot with stupid stunts like this.
@Dave Hammond: Is he a master at spin & PR ultimately though? I take your point, but at the same time Trump energises his supporters/those who fear him, he completely repels everyone else. So he looses majority support and can’t disguise his motives and his methods are blatant. That’s why his approval ratings have been stable, but lower than usual for a president.
@David A. Murray: We agree David , but love him or loathe him , this is a guy with no political experience at all – and he managed to enter the Republican primary and beat all 14 rivals in his campaign at a fraction of the costs ( including Bush , Cruz Romney etc etc ) they were all spending much more but his use of social media and twitter etc left them in the dust – he then famously went on to beat the Clinton machine – he became President of the United States ( and may even get a second term ) – I dont like him at all – hate his policies and do not thin hes good for the US generally – but you cannot deny that he left the democrats and Clinton machine for dust and even now they have trouble mounting a campaign for the current media climate that can rival Trump – so thats what I mean – look beyond the circus and you can see that he is actually a pretty good media operator for spin and PR. ( I do not think his approval ratings are arre soles a reflection of his pr and spin – they are reflective of his performance as a President for all the people –and he is not good at that imo – )
@Dave Hammond: Dave, I wasn’t contradicting your first comment so much as taking a longer term view. I just think that (as you said) it’s a very successful tactic, but surely it can only work for so long before it finally becomes self defeating and alienates too many voters?!! Thank you for taking the time to give such a thoughtful reply to my comment.
@David A. Murray: you are right.
Eventually people realize that the one who is shouting loudest the longest, is not really worth listening to.
@Dave Hammond: Trump really only just won by a small margin – even he didnt expect to win. When he got in all he had to do was shut the hell up and get on with it. Just imagine if he had not sent all those ridiculous tweets, and took it easy on introducing the controversial tweets – he could have got away with so much more. But he didnt because he is an idiot
Saw her testimony, and she did a good job for the USA out in the Ukraine only to be abused by Trump and his crooked cronies.
@Joe Johnson:
She was let go. Which is exceedingly normal with ambassadors when there is a new president. She was witness to absolutely nothing as regards what the Democrats are trying to impeach for. Devin Nunes summed it up perfectly when he asked why was she even there. More ‘performative’ theater from Schiff and that they have to try and sell this tweet as an ‘impeachable’ offense is a joke and just goes to show what a disaster these proceedings have been so far. I imagine we haven’t seen the end of the theatrics and wild(unprovable) claims yet though. We saw the playbook executed in real time for the coordinated attempt to destroy Brett Kavanaugh during his hearings, and I have no doubt we’ll see more nonsense attempted during these hearings.
The first time I heard anyone comment about Trump being likely to refuse to accept loosing in 2020 (if that does happen) was historian H.W. Brands two years ago. At that time it seemed a shocking idea that even Trump would be prepared to ignore an election defeat and try to cling on to power. Now I wouldn’t be surprised honestly.
@David A. Murray: I don’t recall him losing any elections…
@milton friedman: Brands was talking solely about 2020.
Trump accusing people of being week and stupid, but he himself watches tv all the time and it’s the only president in office that goes on weekend breaks to play golf, wait until the investigation find Trump’s second Twitter account.
Hes losing this election with every passing day and with every tweet. He cant keep attacking decent innocent people/former employees day in day out and not expect some fallout.
he probably wont get impeached in the end, but most neutral voters will probably vote democrat in the end.
@Angela McCarthy: Not very bright are you Angels?
Classic comments above. Nobody has a bloody clue what is going on in the US. That includes me, ppl make up their minds through whichever lens of the media they watch. Grow ppl
@Cryptoalcho: eh, it’s not that difficult to actually see and read Trump’s own words in his own Tweets or listen to his actual words in his speeches to make your own mind up about his moral character or competence.
@Cryptoalcho: Do you not read his tweets
Each has their own opinion formed by whatever new media they follow.
However, How can Adam Schiff get away with changing the call transcripts. And where are his so called whistleblowers?
American economy is booming since Trump took over. Something democratic presidents before him couldn’t manage.
@Qfire: that’s not true.
You only have to go back to the last Democrat President to see that. Obama had a much higher growth rate during his administration and he managed to reduce the deficit.
Growth rate under Trump has been comparably weaker and the deficit under Trump has skyrocketed back up again since Obama left.
@Qfire: Jebus that’s weak. “Burn”, “Vote”, “Joey” this one needs a few more tutorials before being allowed loose
@Qfire: Schiff didn’t release any transcript. The White House released a rough version based on the notes of those present and released it all by themselves.
@Qfire: stop deflecting – or at the very least try make a comment that isn’t just completely wrong / untrue made up nonsense ffs will you. Low IQ individual.Sad.
@Diaspora’d: WTF? The national debt DOUBLED under Obama(which will fall on taxpayers for generations to come). Put down the crack pipe. Trump has increased the debt too – but nowhere near to the same degree.
Median incomes are way higher under Trump. Almost 7 million jobs created. Lowest unemployment rate for over 50 years.
Yet ANOTHER stock market record yesterday (Dow Jones broke 28k for the 1st time)
This is ridiculous. She is just a disgruntled former employee. She left Ukraine in May so has no knowledge of any alledged quid pr quo. The dismissal was probably the correct decision. Below are some of her highlights.
1) Making comments unflattering or unsupportive of the president – according to Pete Sessions (who is a Republican though) – If true, how can she continue as ambassador if she doesn’t support DT’s foreign policy;
2) In March 2019, Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko gave an on-the-record, videotaped interview alleging that during a 2016 meeting she discussed a list of names of Ukrainian nationals and groups you did not want to see Ukrainian prosecutors target.
Trump is a disgrace.
The woman (awarded USA and international awards for impeccable service) and that has served the USA government for 33 years, is about to give public evidence about Trump – who tried through lawyer Rudi Giuliani, to smear her across social media and subsequently fired her as she would not go along with his attempt to force the Ukraine government to investigate a possible Trump rival for the 2020 presidential election.
Listening to her statements, Trump, his son and Giuliani have treated this professional honorable woman like absolute crap.
This is a woman that served under multiple 3 Democratic and 5 Republican presidents – all who held her in the highest regard as an ultimate professional. As soon as Trump got the chance, he removed her. She was part of a long established USA group to get rid of Ukraine political corruption.
Trump smeared her – then moved in three others (google “Three amigos”) who have been exposed to be utterly corrupt, to operate a non-official method of speaking to a Ukraine official that had been previously removed (due to his previous Ukraine corruption) who was then put back in place!
Of course he wants all this and far more buried.
@Unitedpeople: She is a weak, snowflake non sequitur. And adds nothing to the actual impeachment.
This is ridiculous. She is just a disgruntled former employee. She left Ukraine in May so has no knowledge of any alledged quid pr quo. The dismissal was probably the correct decision. Below are some of her highlights.
1) Making comments unflattering or unsupportive of the president – according to Pete Sessions (who is a Republican though) – If true, how can she continue as ambassador if she doesn’t support DT’s foreign policy;
2) In March 2019, Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko gave an on-the-record, videotaped interview alleging that during a 2016 meeting she discussed a list of names of Ukrainian nationals and groups you did not want to see Ukrainian prosecutors target. George Kent, also confirmed this to the House Intelligence Committee. Kent signed urging Ukrainian prosecutors to back off an investigation of the George Soro’s group ‘AnTac’ as well as certain Ukrainians like Parliamentary member Sergey Leschenko, journalist Vitali Shabunin and NABU director Artem Sytnyk. It is a Geneva Convention requirement that foreign diplomats must avoid becoming involved in the internal affairs of their host country;
3) She gave a speech this year asking for the replacement of Ukraine’s top anti-corruption prosecutor – like the Russian ambassador in Washington asking for the sacking of Mueller during his investigation.
4) In spring 2019 her embassy reportedly began monitoring briefly the social media communications of certain people viewed as supportive of President Trump and gathering analytics about them.
This is ridiculous. She is just a disgruntled former employee. She left Ukraine in May so has no knowledge of any alledged quid pr quo. The dismissal was probably the correct decision. Below are some of her highlights.
1) Making comments unflattering or unsupportive of the president – according to Pete Sessions (who is a Republican though) – If true, how can she continue as ambassador if she doesn’t support DT’s foreign policy;
2) In March 2019, Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko gave an on-the-record, videotaped interview alleging that during a 2016 meeting she discussed a list of names of Ukrainian nationals and groups you did not want to see Ukrainian prosecutors target. George Kent, also confirmed this to the House Intelligence Committee. Kent signed urging Ukrainian prosecutors to back off an investigation of the George Soro’s group ‘AnTac’ as well as certain Ukrainians like Parliamentary member Sergey Leschenko, journalist Vitali Shabunin and NABU director Artem Sytnyk. It is a Geneva Convention requirement that foreign diplomats must avoid becoming involved in the internal affairs of their host country;
@Jack Simpson: Take 2 pink pills, you’ll be grand.
This is ridiculous. She is just a disgruntled former employee. She left Ukraine in May so has no knowledge of any alledged quid pr quo. The dismissal was probably the correct decision. Below are some of her highlights.
1) Making comments unflattering or unsupportive of the president – according to Pete Sessions (who is a Republican though) – If true, how can she continue as ambassador if she doesn’t support DT’s foreign policy;
This is ridiculous. She is just a disgruntled former employee. She left Ukraine in May so has no knowledge of any alledged quid pr quo. The dismissal was probably the correct decision. Below are some of her highlights.
1) Making comments unflattering or unsupportive of the president – according to Pete Sessions (who is a Republican though) – If true, how can she continue as ambassador if she doesn’t support DT’s foreign policy;
2) In March 2019, Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko gave an on-the-record, videotaped interview alleging that during a 2016 meeting she discussed a list of names of Ukrainian nationals and groups you did not want to see Ukrainian prosecutors target. George Kent, also confirmed this to the House Intelligence Committee.
@Jack Simpson: maybe 3 pink pills will do it…
@Jack Simpson: You forgot to leave out that
1. The State department has stated on record she has done nothing wrong.
2. Is a very dodgy person who is now under investigation at home (people, please google his name)
3. She FULLY supported the Trump ambition to give weapons. All this is on record.
4. During his closed-door deposition, Kent explained to investigators why the White House’s “corruption” defense is bogus. “Politically related prosecutions are not the way of promoting the rule of law. They undermine the rule of law,” he said. He also detailed Rudy Giuliani’s “campaign of lies” against US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, which ultimately resulted in her early recall from Kyiv.
* https://www.vox.com/2019/11/13/20960221/impeachment-hearings-witnesses-ukraine-taylor-kent-yovanovitch
.
If you are going lie – lie better.
@Unitedpeople:
2. Yuriy Lutsenko, is a very dodgy person who is now under investigation at home (people, please google his name)
Rep. Stewart: “I would now feel compelled to ask you, Madam Ambassador, as you sit here before us, very simply and directly, do you have any information regarding the president of the United States accepting any bribes?”
Yovanovitch: “No.”
Stewart: “Do you have any information regarding any criminal activity that the president of the United States has been involved with at all?”
Yovanovitch: “No.”
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