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.

WATCH: Inside look at the dangerous cartel human smuggling tunnels still being used at border

Paul Pelosi charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run in Napa Valley

US backs Iraq-Syria oil pipeline bypassing Strait of Hormuz

Over 100 Democrats voted to end aid to Israel. They’ve received nearly $11 million from AIPAC

WATCH: Felony suspect’s ocean getaway unravels after 90-minute standoff with lifeguards

Covert DNA sample from Colorado man’s trash revives 44-year-old Texas murder case: report

Don Lemon Claims People Are Begging Him to Run for President and He’s ‘Totally Serious’ About Doing It

Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Regulation Becomes Unlikely Election Integrity Rallying Point for Conservatives

Rubio’s call to combat global funders of far-left terrorism could put Singham in crosshairs

Darline Graham considering running for full a Senate term as memorial services set for Lindsey Graham: report

Appeals court sets September hearing over dismissal of James Comey and Letitia James cases

Watch: The Time Gingrich Nailed Turncoat Megyn Kelly’s Clinton vs Trump Hypocrisy – ‘I Dare You – Say “Bill Clinton Sexual Predator”‘

Israeli Knesset dissolves after overnight legislative blitz, elections set for October

MAGA Declares Fox News Has ‘Joined the Fake Media’ After ‘Strange’ Coverage of Trump’s Big Speech

Democrat scrambles to meet Angel Mom after she blasts lawmakers to their faces for ignoring families’ pleas

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.”