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.
Pritzker skewered as ‘victim of his own’ policy after repeat offender arrested in governor’s backyard
WATCH: GOP senators rally behind Lindsey Graham’s sister as successor, remember late senator’s legacy
Israeli Knesset passes bill banning arrest of ultra-orthodox who refuse military service, despite pleas from IDF
Appeals court hands Trump win in fight over 2020 USPS mail changes
American biologist shot dead in his home in the Philippines
Air Force helicopter makes emergency landing in DC
WATCH: Kamala Harris torched over ‘zero sense’ WNBA pep talk in latest ‘word salad’ moment
Arkansas takes home top ranking for religious freedom after Gov Sanders expands key protections
Psychology Journal Adds Adultery to Valid List of Relationship Types, Calls It ‘Secret Non-Monogamy’
Iran Purposely Targets UAE Oil Tankers in Fatal Strike, Calls Ships ‘Non-Compliant’
‘Have You Called 911?’ Tommy Tubberville Shares Details on Lindsey Graham’s Tragic Final Moments
Watch: Today They’d Call This White Supremacist, Christian Nationalist Propaganda – In the 1980s It Was a Typical Razor Ad
These states are ‘ahead of the game’ in bringing down home prices, Trump’s housing chief says
Trump to shrink 2 Utah national monuments by 90%
Deputy US Marshal fatally shot while serving arrest warrant in Louisiana
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.”
Pritzker skewered as ‘victim of his own’ policy after repeat offender arrested in governor’s backyard
WATCH: GOP senators rally behind Lindsey Graham’s sister as successor, remember late senator’s legacy
Israeli Knesset passes bill banning arrest of ultra-orthodox who refuse military service, despite pleas from IDF
Appeals court hands Trump win in fight over 2020 USPS mail changes
American biologist shot dead in his home in the Philippines
Air Force helicopter makes emergency landing in DC
WATCH: Kamala Harris torched over ‘zero sense’ WNBA pep talk in latest ‘word salad’ moment
Arkansas takes home top ranking for religious freedom after Gov Sanders expands key protections
Psychology Journal Adds Adultery to Valid List of Relationship Types, Calls It ‘Secret Non-Monogamy’
Iran Purposely Targets UAE Oil Tankers in Fatal Strike, Calls Ships ‘Non-Compliant’
‘Have You Called 911?’ Tommy Tubberville Shares Details on Lindsey Graham’s Tragic Final Moments
Watch: Today They’d Call This White Supremacist, Christian Nationalist Propaganda – In the 1980s It Was a Typical Razor Ad
These states are ‘ahead of the game’ in bringing down home prices, Trump’s housing chief says
Trump to shrink 2 Utah national monuments by 90%
Deputy US Marshal fatally shot while serving arrest warrant in Louisiana
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.
