Quigley, Krishnamoorthi draw key answers from ex-ambassador
Tweets to Donald Trump and the role of his attorney Rudy Giuliani were among questions Chicago-area Democrats asked Friday during the second day of public congressional hearings into whether the president exerted pressure on Ukraine for political favors.
Former Ukraine Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch told Rep. Mike Quigley she had asked European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland, a Trump ally, for advice after learning she was on shaky ground.
"He said that the best thing to do would be to, you know, send out a tweet ... praise the president, that sort of thing," Yovanovitch testified Friday before the House Intelligence Committee.
"I'm sure he meant well, but it was not advice I could really follow. It felt partisan," she said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg asked if suspending financial aid to Ukraine weakened its defenses against Russia.
"It is extremely shortsighted," Yovanovitch said.
That "truly endangers our national security," Krishnamoorthi said after the hearing, "and puts the peace at risk in Europe when a weakened Ukraine is inviting further aggression by Russia."
Krishnamoorthi and Quigley are the sole Illinoisans on the Intelligence Committee, which is investigating if the White House held up millions of dollars in military aid to coerce Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Trump's rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Being part of history is all-consuming, Krishnamoorthi said on his way home to the suburbs Friday night after landing in Chicago from D.C.
Next week, "there's eight witnesses and five different hearings, so I'm bracing for the amount of homework," he said.
Republicans on the committee stressed that ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president and asked Yovanovitch to confirm if Ukraine was receiving more military aid with Trump than under Democratic President Barack Obama, which she did.
Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, testified she feared for her safety after being told to "watch her back," and that Trump proxies like Giuliani undermined her and the State Department representatives to further corrupt interests.
"It wasn't your preference to be the victim of a smear campaign, was it?" Quigley asked. "It wasn't your preference to be ousted at seemingly the pinnacle of your career, was it?" She answered "no."
After Trump posted a tweet during the hearing criticizing Yovanovitch, Krishnamoorthi said, "Obviously, her testimony got under the president's skin."
"She seemed to be taken aback (by the posts), and I think she was very surprised. She's such a professional person. ... It builds a lot of sympathy. She's been mistreated to say the least."
Krishnamoorthi asked Yovanovitch about the one-month gap between her ouster and the arrival of Ambassador William Taylor.
"It provided the perfect opportunity for another group of people to basically take over Ukraine policy, correct?" he asked, referring to Giuliani and others.
"Yes," she said.