Ukraine Foreign Minister: U.S. Aid, Investigations Were ‘Never’ Linked

Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said Thursday that U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland had “never” linked U.S. aid to Ukrainian investigations of the 2016 elections or the Biden’s role in stopping a probe of Burisma.

Prystaiko spoke the day after the first public hearings in the House Intelligence Committee as part of the “impeachment inquiry,” where two witnesses said they came to believe there had been such a link — though only some time after Politico reported on August 28 that aid had been held up by the Trump administration.

One of the witnesses, Chargé d’affaires Bill Taylor, introduced new evidence that a staffer told him recently that he overheard Sondland speaking to President Donald Trump the day after his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, discussing “investigations.” The staffer also told Taylor that Sondland said that Trump was more interested in investigations than anything else.

As Breitbart News’ Kristina Wong noted, that new evidence — which is fourth-hand hearsay, plus opinion — added little new information, but was cited by Democrats and journalists as evidence that aid might have been linked to investigations Trump had asked the new Ukrainian government to pursue.

GOP billionaire trying to woo Trump’s support in key Georgia race bankrolled his 2024 presidential rivals

Nancy Pelosi endorses former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn in second congressional bid

Watch: Hilarious Video of Bill Clinton Pushing Hillary Clinton Into Busy Intersection

At least 15 senior CBP employees were pushed out under Noem: Sources

Alabama teen comes to mother’s aid, knocks out stepfather during alleged strangulation attempt

Dr Oz helps older woman who collapsed during Trump’s speech at Kentucky event

Ax-wielding suspect subdued by teen military recruit’s MMA takedown in car wash clash caught on video

‘Unprecedented’ agreement releases emergency oil reserves as gas prices spark concerns

House Oversight Committee demands depositions from Bondi and Lutnick in Epstein probe

Dem lawmaker disputes police bodycam amid reports he said he was above the law: ‘On top’ or ‘on time’

Bipartisan housing push advances, but Trump-backed investor ban faces resistance

Trump administration puts key Biden-era immigration policy on notice: ‘Unsustainable cycle’

Newsom knocked for ‘insane’ California gas prices after blaming Trump for rising costs

The ‘Worst Mayor in America’ Is Attempting a Political Comeback — With a New Party

Star Murdaugh trial witness probes mysterious death of Buster’s former classmate

On Thursday, Prystaiko said that there had been no link in discussions at the time with Sondland, as Reuters reported:

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Thursday that U.S. ambassador Gordon Sondland did not explicitly link military aid to Kiev with opening an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Interfax Ukraine reported.

…

“Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and the investigations. You should ask him,” Prystaiko said about Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

…

“I have never seen a direct relationship between investigations and security assistance,” Prystaiko was quoted as saying by Interfax. “Yes, the investigations were mentioned, you know, in the conversation of the presidents. But there was no clear connection between these events.”