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.
Watch: African Who Invaded Spanish City Has Chilling Warning to the Rest of Europe
18-Year-Old Woman Murdered in House Owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
ICE lodges detainer on Salvadoran national, 18, accused of 2 fatal shootings in Houston
Socialist frontrunner in the hot seat after ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ post emerges online
FBI releases eerie new age-progression renderings of accused University of Colorado student killer
Weapons stockpile shortages impacting military strategy in the Mideast
The biggest threat in America’s race with China isn’t Beijing, tech executive warns
Trump Shoots Down Claims Iran Attacked US Water Systems, Blames ‘Corrupt’ Tim Walz
Watch: Spanish Woman’s ‘Suicidal Empathy’ on Full Display as Africans Invade City
Late-term abortion takes front seat as blue state rushes to expand access before session ends
Get your Shark Week fix in DC
FBI still searching for 2020 rioter who helped demolish ICE facility
Fauci faces lifetime ban from federal government work under new bill following explosive hearing
Internet erupts over report that Platner’s replacement in key Senate race fathered children with second cousin
Watch: Bill Murray’s Brutal SNL Skit from 1987 Called Out Trans Surgeon as Deranged Child Mutilator
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.”
Watch: African Who Invaded Spanish City Has Chilling Warning to the Rest of Europe
18-Year-Old Woman Murdered in House Owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
ICE lodges detainer on Salvadoran national, 18, accused of 2 fatal shootings in Houston
Socialist frontrunner in the hot seat after ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ post emerges online
FBI releases eerie new age-progression renderings of accused University of Colorado student killer
Weapons stockpile shortages impacting military strategy in the Mideast
The biggest threat in America’s race with China isn’t Beijing, tech executive warns
Trump Shoots Down Claims Iran Attacked US Water Systems, Blames ‘Corrupt’ Tim Walz
Watch: Spanish Woman’s ‘Suicidal Empathy’ on Full Display as Africans Invade City
Late-term abortion takes front seat as blue state rushes to expand access before session ends
Get your Shark Week fix in DC
FBI still searching for 2020 rioter who helped demolish ICE facility
Fauci faces lifetime ban from federal government work under new bill following explosive hearing
Internet erupts over report that Platner’s replacement in key Senate race fathered children with second cousin
Watch: Bill Murray’s Brutal SNL Skit from 1987 Called Out Trans Surgeon as Deranged Child Mutilator
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.
