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.
Schumer, Dems again block DHS funding, force State of the Union showdown
Pentagon gives AI firm ultimatum: lift military limits by Friday or lose $200M deal
No Democratic candidate secures party endorsement in California governor’s race
‘Big guys, huh?’: Trump hosts US Olympic hockey team ahead of State of the Union
US Men’s Hockey Team Arrives in DC in Patriotic Style Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union
Cowardly Texas Republicans Drop Plan to Honor Charlie Kirk with Highway After Modest Left-Wing Pushback
United Cajun Navy offers search and rescue services in hunt for Nancy Guthrie
WATCH: Mamdani Was Filmed Praising Group of Muslims Who Glorify Killing Christians and Jews
Security guard, Arizona moving company employees help recover 2-year-old allegedly taken by unrelated woman
Rubio, Ratcliffe to deliver classified Iran briefing to Gang of Eight ahead of Trump’s State of the Union
Erika Kirk to be Trump’s guest at State of the Union
CNN Data Analyst Calls 2028 Democrat Field a ‘Clown Car,’ Says Newsom Is ‘Flailing’
Iowa congressman took cash from Chinese companies buying American farmland
Dem rep identifies himself as one of this year’s State of the Union designated survivors
Evil: Newsom’s Team Decides to Free Child Molester Whose Crimes We Can’t Fully Describe Here (and You Wouldn’t Want Us To)
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.”
Schumer, Dems again block DHS funding, force State of the Union showdown
Pentagon gives AI firm ultimatum: lift military limits by Friday or lose $200M deal
No Democratic candidate secures party endorsement in California governor’s race
‘Big guys, huh?’: Trump hosts US Olympic hockey team ahead of State of the Union
US Men’s Hockey Team Arrives in DC in Patriotic Style Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union
Cowardly Texas Republicans Drop Plan to Honor Charlie Kirk with Highway After Modest Left-Wing Pushback
United Cajun Navy offers search and rescue services in hunt for Nancy Guthrie
WATCH: Mamdani Was Filmed Praising Group of Muslims Who Glorify Killing Christians and Jews
Security guard, Arizona moving company employees help recover 2-year-old allegedly taken by unrelated woman
Rubio, Ratcliffe to deliver classified Iran briefing to Gang of Eight ahead of Trump’s State of the Union
Erika Kirk to be Trump’s guest at State of the Union
CNN Data Analyst Calls 2028 Democrat Field a ‘Clown Car,’ Says Newsom Is ‘Flailing’
Iowa congressman took cash from Chinese companies buying American farmland
Dem rep identifies himself as one of this year’s State of the Union designated survivors
Evil: Newsom’s Team Decides to Free Child Molester Whose Crimes We Can’t Fully Describe Here (and You Wouldn’t Want Us To)
In his closed-door testimony last month, which was released by the House Intelligence Committee several days ago, Sondland told the committee that he had spoken frequently with Prystaiko and other Ukrainian officials during the period in question.
Sondland is due to testify in the public hearings next week.
Story cited here.
