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.
Mamdani ripped after conceding key campaign pledge won’t happen this year
American Husband Arrested Days After His Wife Went Missing in the Bahamas
Putting Iran in Perspective: Have Americans Lost the Stomach to Fight Those Who Want Us Dead?
House Dem leaders open door to 25th Amendment after rank-and-file push for Trump’s removal
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seeks death penalty for three MS-13 gang members
Rogue Dem bucks party on Trump war powers, calls Iran ‘47-year-old war crime’
Vulnerable Dem incumbent caught calling home state ‘stolen land’ in resurfaced video
Disney Set to Make Significant Layoffs as Fierce Competition Takes a Toll: Report
Despite Some GOP Claims, the ‘DIGNITY Act’ Is an Amnesty Bill and We’ve Got the Receipts to Prove It
Oklahoma principal shot in leg is praised for tackling school shooter: ‘He is a hero’
Philadelphia parking garage collapse leaves 1 dead, 2 missing
DC’s bid to block Trump’s National Guard deployment hits basic legal snag: Can’t sue itself
Spanberger ripped after taking credit for billions in investments secured under GOP predecessor: ‘Pathetic’
He’s Out! Disgraced Lawyer Michael Avenatti Moves to Hollywood Halfway House to Finish Prison Sentence
Five ways Mullin is already pushing DHS in a new direction
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.”
Mamdani ripped after conceding key campaign pledge won’t happen this year
American Husband Arrested Days After His Wife Went Missing in the Bahamas
Putting Iran in Perspective: Have Americans Lost the Stomach to Fight Those Who Want Us Dead?
House Dem leaders open door to 25th Amendment after rank-and-file push for Trump’s removal
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seeks death penalty for three MS-13 gang members
Rogue Dem bucks party on Trump war powers, calls Iran ‘47-year-old war crime’
Vulnerable Dem incumbent caught calling home state ‘stolen land’ in resurfaced video
Disney Set to Make Significant Layoffs as Fierce Competition Takes a Toll: Report
Despite Some GOP Claims, the ‘DIGNITY Act’ Is an Amnesty Bill and We’ve Got the Receipts to Prove It
Oklahoma principal shot in leg is praised for tackling school shooter: ‘He is a hero’
Philadelphia parking garage collapse leaves 1 dead, 2 missing
DC’s bid to block Trump’s National Guard deployment hits basic legal snag: Can’t sue itself
Spanberger ripped after taking credit for billions in investments secured under GOP predecessor: ‘Pathetic’
He’s Out! Disgraced Lawyer Michael Avenatti Moves to Hollywood Halfway House to Finish Prison Sentence
Five ways Mullin is already pushing DHS in a new direction
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.
