Diplomat testifies Trump's wish to buy Greenland 'took up a lot of energy' during Ukraine calamity

President Trump's baffling desire to buy Greenland got in the way of actual important work, acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor revealed during congressional testimony last month.

A transcript of Taylor's testimony to House impeachment investigators was made public on Wednesday. In his deposition, Taylor described what it was like in the weeks after Trump decided in mid-July to put a hold on military aid to Ukraine. In August, Cabinet members and top national security officials were desperate to hold a meeting with Trump about the matter, Taylor said, because Ukraine needed the money to fight off Russian military aggression.

While they all agreed a meeting with Trump needed to take place, it was difficult to set a date, Taylor said. Most of the Cabinet members had overseas work trips scheduled, and staffers who should have been involved in organizing the meeting were busy trying to find a way to make Trump's inexplicable dream of purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, come true.

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"I think this was also about the time of the Greenland question, about purchasing Greenland, which took up a lot of energy in the NSC [National Security Council]," Taylor said. In response, Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said: "Okay. That's disturbing for a whole different reason."