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.

NYC alleged dine-and-dash influencer Pei Chung evicted from luxury apartment as she sits in jail

Illegal immigrant gang member killed police K-9 ‘Spike’ before officers returned fire in California: source

Breaking: Trump Officially Invalidates All Documents Signed by Biden Autopen, Including Pardons – Fauci, Hunter Biden Now Vulnerable

Watch: The Fieriest Trump Comments in History Just Came Out During Cabinet Meeting – POTUS Utterly Scorched Omar and Somalis, Calling Them ‘Garbage’ from ‘Stinking Country’

Trump doubles down on voiding Biden autopen actions, including pardons and commutations

Top expert exposes how elites are encouraging immigrants to not assimilate into American culture

Witkoff and Kushner leave Kremlin after nearly five hours of negotiation with Putin

Trump hails $6 billion generosity of Dell family, teases more investors for ‘trust fund’ for American children

Portland drops ‘Christmas’ from tree lighting ceremony featuring ‘Free Palestine’ chant

BREAKING: Afghan Shooter Pleads Not Guilty to All Charges in National Guard Murder Case

Chip Roy Floats Congressional Action on College Football After Lane Kiffin Fiasco: ‘Isn’t Supposed to Be an NFL Lite’

Trump-backed Republican touts ‘great turnout for us’ in must-win special election for GOP

Senators vow push to prohibit US military action in Venezuela if Trump pursues strikes against the country

ICE nabs child rapists, gun-toting robbers as assaults on officers rise 1,153%

Venezuela land strikes will start ‘very soon,’ Trump says at final Cabinet meeting of the year

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.”