Former Ukraine ambassador testifies 'corrupt interests' were able to 'manipulate our government'

Ousted ambassador Marie Yovanovitch told Congress Friday that U.S. policy toward Ukraine was "thrown into disarray" and that corrupt foreign interests were able to "manipulate our government" by having her removed.

Yovanovitch spoke on the second day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry into Trump, which centers around whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to conduct investigations that might help him in the 2020 election, including into former Vice President Joe Biden.

In her opening statement, Yovanovitch told Congress that she was pushed out as ambassador in May 2019 following a "smear campaign" against her, with false claims being pushed by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainians who "apparently felt stymied by our efforts to promote stated U.S. policy against corruption."

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"How could our system fail like this?" she asked. "How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?"

Now, Yovanovitch told Congress, "shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want." Without mentioning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, she also slammed the State Department's leadership for not "[pushing] back as foreign and corrupt interests apparently hijacked our Ukraine policy," adding, "I remain disappointed that the Department's leadership and others have declined to acknowledge that the attacks against me and others are dangerously wrong." Brendan Morrow