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.

9/11 Museum unveils exhibition for generation too young to remember the attacks: ‘Called everybody to lead’

America’s reddest state chases billion-dollar boom as others sour on massive emerging industry

Teen boater found clinging to capsized vessel after 3 go missing; 2 bodies recovered

Ex-NFL cheerleader battles former gubernatorial aide in tight GOP primary race

Five takeaways from opening night of first-ever GOP midterm convention

Trump makes stunning first-of-its-kind cash promise in bid to rally GOP voters at Dallas midterm convention

Trump electrifies his base, but the nosebleeds are empty. Is it enough to win the midterms?

Fetterman teases where his true loyalty lies after surprise appearance at GOP convention

EXCLUSIVE: 25 years after 9/11, ICE says more than 2K known or suspected terrorists have been deported

Trump makes convention pitch for Paxton: You may not like his looks, but he’s the best AG in Texas history

US forces obliterate suspected ‘narco-terrorist’ vessel in lethal Eastern Pacific strike, killing 3

Military Base Guards Cleared to Say ‘Have a Blessed Day’ After Pete Hegseth Steps in to Oppose ‘Radical Anti-Christian’ Group

Dem senator delivers surprise video at Republican convention backing McCormick

Jim Jordan to relinquish House Oversight and Judiciary gavels, stirring leadership speculation

HSI agent who investigated child exploitation cases indicted on rape and child abuse charges

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.”