Third-highest ranking U.S. diplomat expected to testify in impeachment inquiry Wednesday
David Hale, the third-highest ranking U.S. diplomat, is expected to testify before House impeachment investigators on Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
Hale is a career ambassador, having served in Pakistan, Lebanon, and Jordan, and as under secretary of state for political affairs, is ranked below Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his deputy secretary, John Sullivan. Investigators will likely ask Hale why the State Department refused to issue a statement supporting former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Yovanovitch was the target of a smear campaign, with Rudy Giuliani and others circulating unfounded conspiracy theories about her in order to get the ambassador removed from her post.
Many diplomats were upset by the false rumors being spread about Yovanovitch. During his testimony to investigators, Philip Reeker, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said he told Hale the State Department should release a statement backing Yovanovitch, a person with knowledge of the matter told the Post. Later, Reeker revealed, people who worked for Hale told him that no statement would be issued.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Political cartoons for January 21Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include a terrifying spectacle, an absent Congress, and worst case investments
-
DOGE shared Social Security data, DOJ saysSpeed Read The Justice Department issued what it called ‘corrections’ on the matter
-
Halligan quits US attorney role amid court pressureSpeed Read Halligan’s position had already been considered vacant by at least one judge
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
