The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine told Congress that comments President Trump made about her left her feeling threatened and "very concerned."
The House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry into Trump on Monday released a transcript of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's congressional testimony, which occurred earlier this month. It had previously been reported that Yovanovitch told Congress that Trump pushed for her removal based on "false claims" made by people with "questionable motives." Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Rudy Giuliani associates who were later arrested and charged with violating campaign finance laws, had reportedly been pushing for her removal on behalf of one or more Ukrainian government officials. She ultimately was dismissed in May.
But the transcript also shows that Yovanovitch said she was concerned when she saw that Trump had talked about her on his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Trump having said she was "bad news" and that "she's going to go through some things." Asked during her deposition about this comment, Yovanovitch said she didn't know what it meant but was "very concerned" by it and "I still am."
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Asked specifically if she felt "threatened" by this comment, Yovanovitch said "yes" and added that it "does not leave me in a comfortable position." Yovanovitch also testified that in February, a senior Ukrainian official alerted her to the fact that Parnas and Fruma were pushing to have her removed as ambassador, telling her that "I really needed to watch my back."
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