The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

In the scramble this spring to figure out why then-US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was being recalled from Kiev, the highest levels of the State Department turned to Fox News host Sean Hannity for information, according to Yovanovitch’s testimony.

In her closed-door deposition, Yovanovitch said she heard that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, or his senior aides, were reaching out to Hannity to figure out why he was criticizing her and calling for her removal from Ukraine. (Yovanovitch was the target of repeated attacks by Hannity, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump Jr., the President’s son.)

She testified:

Yovanovitch continued, “And I understand that that call was made. I don’t know whether it was the Secretary or somebody else in his inner circle.”

She explained that things “simmered down” for a bit after that phone call, and that the attacks against her lulled before later reaching a fever pitch later on with her removal.

More context here: Hannity and Fox News are mentioned at least dozen times in the 317-page transcript. He is an incredible influential voice in Trump’s orbit, acting as an informal adviser to the President and routinely using his TV platform to push pro-Trump talking points and conspiracy theories. 

Throughout Yovanovitch’s deposition, she explained how career State Department officials struggled to square official US policy with the positions being floated by Trump’s allies in conservative media, including Hannity, and John Solomon’s controversial columns in The Hill. 

Former State Department adviser Michael McKinley said he believed that the conduct of US policy toward Ukraine by some State Department officials was hurting the integrity of the Department’s diplomatic work.

McKinley said his “impression” was that the “overwhelming majority” would agree with his assessment.

Former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified that a Ukrainian official told the US embassy that President Trump may have joined a meeting between Rudy Giuliani and then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko by phone. 

She said that Deputy Prosecutor General Yevhen Yenin told Charges D’affaires in Kiev at the time Joseph Pennington about the rumor and that she heard it from Pennington. It was her understanding that Yenin had heard it from Lutsenko.

“So you’re saying was that Mr. Lutsenko had told him that the President had phoned into their meeting?” she was asked.

 “Uh-huh,” she replied.

 “Is that a yes?” she was asked.

 “That’s a yes,” she said. 

The House Intelligence Committee released transcripts from interviews with two US officials, which were conducted as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

The transcripts were from depositions with former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and former State Department adviser Michael McKinley.

We’re still going through the documents, and we’ll keep posting highlights here. So far, here are some of the key lines:

Yovanovitch’s testimony

McKinley’s testimony

In her testimony, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch defended the decision to deny the former Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin a visa to the US and suggested she was blindsided by Rudy Giuliani going to the White House and senior State Department officials to lobby on his behalf. 

Yovanovitch said she was alerted that “the embassy had received a visa application for a tourist visa from Mr. Shokin, the previous prosecutor general. And he said that he was coming to visit his children, who live in the United States. And so, the consular folks, you know, got the application, recognized the name, and believed that he was ineligible for a visa, based on his, you know, known corrupt activities.”

She said that it was her understanding that the embassy gave Shokin either a “formal hard refusal or what we call a 221G, which is an administrative refusal, asking for more information.”

Yovanovitch said she alerted George Kent, who notified then Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs A. Wess Mitchell about Shokin’s visa denial.

“And when you know, of course, when the calls came from Mr. Giuliani to the White House and to the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, they got in touch with the European Bureau, and Mr. Mitchell, you know, held firm. I mean, it was a consular decision. The consular folks felt that they had made the right decision. And, you know, there was the added issue that, you know, basically the notorious reputation of Mr. Shokin,” she said.

“And, frankly, at the end of the day, he lied on his visa application,” Yovanovitch added, noting that he had said on his application he was visiting family when he was really visiting Giuliani.

Catcher Kurt Suzuki wears a "Make America Great Again" hat as he is hugged by President Trump as he welcomes the 2019 World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals, to the White House

As key witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry rocks Washington, President Trump welcomed the Washington Nationals, this year’s World Series Champions, to the White House.

“The last time Washington, DC, was home to the World Series champs, the President was a man by the name of Calvin Coolidge,” Trump said, predicting that this would be the first championship “of many.”

Trump said America fell in love with Nationals baseball this season, adding that it was was “all they could talk about.”

The President said he has proclaimed today Washington Nationals Day, as he congratulated the team. A military band played “We are the Champions” as the President and First Lady departed. 

Not every member of the Nationals attended the event. In addition to Sean Doolittle declining the invitation, it appears Anthony Rendon, Victor Robles, Wander Suero, Javy Guerra, Joe Ross, Wilmer Difo and Michael A. Taylor also did not come to the White House today.  

Watch here:

The transcript of Marie Yovanovitch’s testimony makes clear Republican efforts to question the impeachment effort’s procedures, even as GOP members were given equal time to question the former US ambassador to Ukraine.

Before the questioning even began, Republicans criticized the rules surrounding the inquiry and suggested it should be led by another committee. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Trump ally, said the President and Republicans should be able to see all the evidence and present their own evidence “bearing on the credibility” of witnesses. The Ohio Republican also said President Trump should be able to respond to the testimony.

The Republicans went back-and-forth with House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff over the rules before the questioning began. 

Later, the Republicans interjected when it became known that Yovanovitch’s opening statement had been obtained by the media, which they repeatedly attempted to question her about. Her lawyer sought to block those questions, though she eventually responded to an inquiry on whether she thought her opening statement should be provided to the press. 

Later, during their time to question Yovanovitch, the Republicans asked about a conversation she had with George Kent, a State Department official, about Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky after she was recalled from her post.

Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican from South Carolina, also asked Yovanovitch why she was called “Masha,” to which she replied that it’s a common Russian nickname. 

In her deposition, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch said she was warned by a senior Ukrainian official that she needed to watch her back as Trump associates worked to undermine her and have her removed.

Asked about her conversations with Ukrainian officials about Rudy Giuliani, Yovanovitch said she recalled a February 2019 conversation with one official who was “very concerned” about Giuliani’s efforts along with his associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fought to stay in Ukraine, but was told she had to be “on the next plane home” out of concerns for her “security.” 

Here’s how Yovanovitch explained the situation:

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch said former special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker told her the backlash against her would “blow over,” and that she did not recall discussing Rudy Giuliani’s activities in Ukraine with Volker.