State Department reportedly feared Trump would 'undermine' effort to support ex-Ukraine ambassador

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/Getty Images)

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch just wanted a statement of support from the State Department in the face of an alleged smear campaign against her orchestrated by President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. But she never got one.

During her testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, a transcript of which was published Monday, Yovanovitch told lawmakers that was because the State Department was afraid such a statement would be "undermined" — by President Trump himself.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.