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.

Colorado House advances conversion therapy lawsuit bill; GOP lawmaker calls it ‘slap in the face’ to SCOTUS

Artemis II crew describes life aboard Orion spacecraft on historic journey to the moon and back

Erika Kirk and Karoline Leavitt talk free thinking and faith at TPUSA college tour kickoff

Karoline Leavitt reveals ‘anti-climatic’ way Trump told her she’d be press secretary: ‘Oh, by the way’

Trump slaps up to 100% tariff on some brand-name drug imports in major America First push

Two arrested in NC after police find 13-year-old kept in dog kennel, 5 other kids in ‘filthy’ home

Heart-pounding video shows fisherman leaping into ocean to save great white shark

Pete Hegseth signs memo opening door for troops to carry personal firearms on bases

Illegal migrant babysitter accused in 5-year-old attack now faces major charges

Florida, Mississippi join wave of states tightening voter citizenship rules

Trump Announces Plan to Help DHS Workers in Spite of ‘Radical Left’ Shutdown

Trump 2027 budget preview hints at sweeping scale-up in core agenda

Report: The Last Straw That Led to Trump Firing Pam Bondi Had to Do with Eric Swalwell

Gradual erosion of confidence led to Pam Bondi’s abrupt ouster

FBI Warns Congress of ‘Major’ Cyber Hack Involving China That Could Threaten National Security

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.”