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.
Obama Center visitors say project symbolic of ‘Black excellence,’ claim scandal-free legacy while Trump ripped
Trump administration probe could upend widely used transgender youth treatment guidelines
Chinese AI models raise ‘sleeper agent’ fears after report finds more vulnerable code for US users
Angel Dads face another Father’s Day without children killed by illegal immigrants: ‘She should be graduating’
Trump’s contracting controversies in the spotlight following no-bid Reflecting Pool deal
Can Ed Hale, a former Democrat, rebuild the Larry Hogan coalition in Maryland?
JD Vance arrives in Switzerland to join Kushner and Witkoff for new round of Iran negotiations
Trump says much of water in Reflecting Pool likely to be drained: ‘Necessary repairs’
Pope Leo sends unmistakable message on immigrants during visit honoring America’s first saint
Former Olympian among those charged with vandalizing Reflecting Pool; Trump says basin must be drained: report
Obama Presidential Center follows widely-mocked ‘stolen land’ acknowledgment with Native American dance show
Children among 6 wounded in Maryland mass shooting as detectives work to determine what occurred
Manhunt underway for Kansas City shooting spree suspect near World Cup venue; FBI offering $25K reward
US Park Police arrest former Olympian for vandalism of Reflecting Pool
Obama Center embeds ‘Indigenous’ land message on controversial site
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.”
Obama Center visitors say project symbolic of ‘Black excellence,’ claim scandal-free legacy while Trump ripped
Trump administration probe could upend widely used transgender youth treatment guidelines
Chinese AI models raise ‘sleeper agent’ fears after report finds more vulnerable code for US users
Angel Dads face another Father’s Day without children killed by illegal immigrants: ‘She should be graduating’
Trump’s contracting controversies in the spotlight following no-bid Reflecting Pool deal
Can Ed Hale, a former Democrat, rebuild the Larry Hogan coalition in Maryland?
JD Vance arrives in Switzerland to join Kushner and Witkoff for new round of Iran negotiations
Trump says much of water in Reflecting Pool likely to be drained: ‘Necessary repairs’
Pope Leo sends unmistakable message on immigrants during visit honoring America’s first saint
Former Olympian among those charged with vandalizing Reflecting Pool; Trump says basin must be drained: report
Obama Presidential Center follows widely-mocked ‘stolen land’ acknowledgment with Native American dance show
Children among 6 wounded in Maryland mass shooting as detectives work to determine what occurred
Manhunt underway for Kansas City shooting spree suspect near World Cup venue; FBI offering $25K reward
US Park Police arrest former Olympian for vandalism of Reflecting Pool
Obama Center embeds ‘Indigenous’ land message on controversial site
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.
