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.

Combat vet senator chokes up over fallen friend in fiery floor speech about Iran war: ‘We will finish it’

EXCLUSIVE: ICE removes former NFL player Daniel Ogama Adongo after visa overstay, criminal record

Leftists Seethe as Ella Langley’s Chart-Topping Country Song Makes History

Republican Lawmakers Demand Action After Somali Gangs Open Fire in Minnesota Park

LeBron James Announces He’s Headed to a New Team – One Peculiar Line from His Explanation Stands Out

Georgia high school shooting suspect Colt Gray changes plea to guilty, now faces life in prison

Ilhan Omar’s office housed inside Somali community center that received redirected Feeding Our Future donations

Man accused of raping three underage girls faces new charge from prison

Injuries reported in crash involving police vessel near Westminster Bridge in London

‘Allahu Akbar!’ Jewish and Asian Victims Stabbed by Man Shouting Islamic Battle Cry in Mamdani’s NYC

Bombshell memo shows Biden planned to leave Trump with even more massive immigration crisis

‘McCarthy trials’: Hasan Piker, far-left figures erupt over subpoenas in $39M Singham probe

Democrats weigh backing Trump’s push to pair Iran with Russia sanctions

Watch: Boy, 9, Has Slick Message for Bank Robber He Rescued His Nana From

Watch: Legendary ‘Journey’ Band Member, Songwriter Tells Trump-Hating Bruce Springsteen to ‘Shut Up’

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.”