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.

News Outlet Caves to Democratic Senate Candidate, Kills Poll That Makes Her Look Bad

Watch: Angel Reese Shoves Caitlin Clark, Then Mocks Her as Long-Running Rivalry Is Renewed

Double endorsement drama: Trump backs second candidate in red state’s GOP gubernatorial runoff

Schiff silent on Biden-era Newsom probe report as California AG claims DOJ ‘weaponization’

Trump reveals new Air Force One will fly over DC on July 4

Transgender former New Hampshire state representative sentenced to 33 years for child sex abuse: report

WATCH: Boozy boaters unleash wild riverfront brawl as fists fly at popular South Carolina sandbar

New Air Force One takes flight as Trump unveils revamped presidential aircraft

Clarence Thomas and Two Fellow Conservatives Form Unexpected Majority with Two Liberals in SCOTUS Decision

Satanic: Muslim Pedophiles Told UK Girls That Being Raped Would Take Away Their Sins

Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Gilgo sentencing, a warning from ‘Happy Face,’ Mangione psychs himself out

Florida subpoenas MLB for ‘selectively enforcing’ uniform rules to reprimand Christian pitchers

Newsom rejects scaled-back billionaires tax as ballot fight looms

Washington hosts relatively muted Juneteenth compared to America 250 events

Watch: Trump Physically Supports Marine Maj. James Capers, 88, Before Awarding the Unkillable Vietnam Vet the Congressional Medal of Honor

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.”