What to know about Friday’s impeachment hearing
- At the second public impeachment hearing, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified that President Trump’s comments about her on the July 25 call “sounded like a threat.”
- During the hearing, the president attacked her on Twitter, saying “everywhere Yovanovitch went turned bad.”
- Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, was recalled from her post in Ukraine earlier this year following a campaign to discredit her led by Rudy Giuliani.
- Download the free CBS News app to stream live coverage of the impeachment hearings.
Washington — The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was recalled from her post earlier this year said President Trump’s comments about her during his July 25 phone call with the president of Ukraine “sounded like a threat.”
Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch is appearing Friday before the House Intelligence Committee in the second public hearing in the impeachment inquiry. She said she was the victim of a smear campaign led by Rudy Giuliani and “foreign corrupt interests” in Ukraine.
“How could our system fail like this? How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?” Yovanovitch said in her opening statement.
On the president’s now-infamous phone call with the president of Ukraine in July, Mr. Trump said Yovanovitch was “bad news” and would be “going through some things.” Yovanovitch said the comment “sounded like a threat” and elicited a physical reaction when she learned what was said.
“The color drained from my face,” she said, visibly shaken. “Even now, words kind of fail me … I was shocked and devastated that I would feature in a phone call between two heads of state in such a manner.”
As she was testifying, the president tweeted a new attack against her, claiming that “everywhere Yovanovitch went turned bad.”
In a remarkable moment, Yovanovitch was asked to respond to the president’s tweets just minutes after he sent them. She said she found them “very intimidating.”
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the president’s attacks were tantamount to witness intimidation.
“I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously,” Schiff said. — Stefan Becket
Yovanovitch sidesteps questions about Hunter Biden
12:51 p.m.: Yovanovitch sidestepped questions about Hunter Biden and his role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas firm. Biden served on the board of Burisma from 2014 to 2019. Yovanovitch arrived in Ukraine in 2016.
“I never met him, never talked to him,” Yovanovitch said about Biden. She also said that Biden’s position on the board was “not a focus” while she was in Ukraine.
Yovanovitch also weighed in on the theory promoted by Republicans that Ukrainians opposed Mr. Trump’s election.
“We didn’t really see it that way,” Yovanovitch said.
Steve Castor, the minority’s counsel, also asked Yovanovitch if it was true that Mr. Trump has a “longstanding interest” in corruption in Ukraine.
“That’s what he says,” Yovanovitch replied. — Grace Segers
Nunes questions relevance of Yovanovitch’s testimony
12:33 p.m.: Nunes, the top Republican on the committee, questioned why Yovanovitch was called to testify in the first place, given the fact that she was removed from her post before the events that are central to the Ukraine scandal.
“I’m not exactly sure what the ambassador is doing here today,” Nunes said. “This is the House Intelligence Committee that has now turned into the House Impeachment Committee.”
Nunes said the hearing “seems more appropriate for the subcommittee on human resources at the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
He then attempted to yield to Representative Elise Stefanik in violation of the rules for the proceedings, which state that only Nunes or a designated member of his staff may ask questions during this round. Schiff cut Stefanik off, and Nunes protested, before yielding to staff attorney Steve Castor. — Stefan Becket
Hearing resumes after lengthy recess
12:21 p.m.: After a break that lasted more than an hour, lawmakers and Yovanovitch are back in the hearing room for the second round of questioning, led by Ranking Member Devin Nunes — Stefan Becket
Yovanovitch: State Department “being hollowed out from within”
11:36 a.m.: In her opening statement, Yovanovitch said her experience was emblematic of wider problems within the State Department, which she said is being “degraded” as an institution.
“The attacks are leading to a crisis in the State Department, as the policy process is visibly unravelling, leadership vacancies go unfilled and senior and mid-level officers ponder an uncertain future,” she said. “The crisis has moved from the impact on individuals to an impact on the institution itself.”
She added: “The State Department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage.” — Stefan Becket
Committee in recess for floor votes
10:49 a.m.: Lawmakers are in recess for a series of votes on the House floor, which are expected to last at least an hour. — Rebecca Kaplan
Yovanovitch reacts to Trump’s tweets attacking her
10:25 a.m.: Schiff read Mr. Trump’s tweets from just minutes before, in which he said that “everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go?”
“Ambassador Yovanovitch, as we sit here testifying, the president is attacking you on Twitter,” Schiff said. “And I would like to give you a chance to respond.”
Schiff then read portions of the tweets and asked for her reaction.
“I don’t think I have such powers. Not in Mogadishu, Somalia, not in other places,” Yovanovitch said, slightly smiling. “I think where I have served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better for the U.S. and for the countries that I’ve served in.”
“Ambassador, you have shown the courage to come forward today and testify, notwithstanding the fact that you were urged by the White House or State Department not to. Notwithstanding the fact that, as you testified earlier, the president implicitly threatened you in that call record, and now the president in real time is attacking you,” Schiff said. “What effect do you think that has on other witnesses willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?”
“It is very intimidating,” Yovanovitch said. “I can’t speak to what the president is trying to do, but I think the effect is to be intimidating.”
Schiff responded: “I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously.” — Grace Segers
Yovanovitch says she was “shocked and devastated” by Trump comments on July 25 call
10:13 a.m.: Yovanovitch described her reaction to reading the summary of the July 25 call between Mr. Trump and Zelensky, when Mr. Trump called her “bad news,” and Zelensky said he agreed “100%.”
She said she first learned what he had said when the White House released the official account of the call in late September.
“I was shocked. Absolutely shocked. And devastated, frankly,” Yovanovitch said.
“A person who saw me actually reading the transcript said that the color drained from my face,” she said. “I think I even had a physical reaction. Even now, words kind of fail me.”
Yovanovitch added that she was “shocked and devastated that I would feature in a phone call between two heads of state in such a manner.”
At another point in the call, Mr. Trump told Zelensky that Yovanovitch was going to “go through some things.” Yovanovitch said she wasn’t sure what Mr. Trump meant, but “it didn’t sound good.”
“It kind of felt like a vague threat,” Yovanovitch said. — Grace Segers
Yovanovitch says abrupt removal “not how I wanted my career to end”
10:12 a.m.: Yovanovitch described a May discussion with Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, when Sullivan told her that Mr. Trump had lost confidence in her. She was given no reason for why she had lost the confidence of Mr. Trump, and was only told that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was “no longer able to protect” her.
“My understanding was that the president had wanted me to leave, and there was some discussion about that,” Yovanovitch said about Mr. Trump’s opposition to her service.
Sullivan told her that she had to leave Ukraine, which Yovanovitch said made her feel “terrible, honestly.”
“After 33 years of service to our country — it’s not how I wanted my career to end,” Yovanovitch said. — Grace Segers
Trump attacks Yovanovitch during testimony
10:09 a.m.: The president tweeted twice about Yovanovitch and her career:
Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019
….They call it “serving at the pleasure of the President.” The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019
Yovanovitch denounces “smear” campaign
9:50 a.m.: Continuing her opening statement, Yovanovitch defended her reputation and actions, specifically addressing allegations made by Giuliani and Ukrainians trying to derail her anti-corruption work.
“Perhaps it was not surprising that when our anti-corruption efforts got in the way of a desire for profit or power, Ukrainians who preferred to play by the old, corrupt rules sought to remove me,” Yovanovitch said. “What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them and, working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a U.S. ambassador. How could our system fail like this? How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?”
American leadership around the world, she said, “depends on the power of our example and the consistency of our purpose. Both have now been opened to question.”
She said allegations that she was out to get Mr. Trump are untrue, and said she never even met Hunter Biden.
“Also untrue are unsourced allegations that I told unidentified embassy employees or Ukrainian officials that President Trump’s orders should be ignored because ‘he was going to be impeached’ — or for any other reason. I did not and would not say such a thing,” she testified.
“The Obama administration did not ask me to help the Clinton campaign or harm the Trump campaign, nor would I have taken any such steps if they had,” she added.
Yovanovitch also swatted down allegations that she distributed a list of people not to prosecute in Ukraine.
“I want to reiterate that the allegation that I disseminated a ‘Do Not Prosecute’ list is a fabrication,” she testified. — Kathryn Watson
Yovanovitch’s opening statement: “I had no agenda”
9:40 a.m.: After being sworn in, Yovanovitch began her opening statement by making it clear she had “no agenda” other than to serve stated U.S. policy goals. Yovanovitch, who joined the foreign service during the Reagan administration, has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents.
“I joined the Foreign Service during the Reagan Administration and subsequently served three other Republican presidents, as well as two Democratic presidents,” she said. “It was my great honor to be appointed to serve as an ambassador three times– twice by President George W. Bush and once by President Barack Obama.”
Yovanovitch then went on to describe the trials of her service, including when she was quite literally caught in crossfire in Russia.
“I worked to advance U.S. policy, fully embraced by Republicans and Democrats alike,” to help Ukraine become a fully free and independent state, she testified. That goal serves not just Ukrainian interests, but U.S. interests, too.
“They match our objectives,” Yovanovitch said.
The U.S. has provided “significant” assistance to Ukraine, and the Trump administration “strengthened” that support to Ukraine by providing Javelin anti-tank missiles. — Kathryn Watson
White House says Trump not watching hearing
9:40 a.m.: In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham Mr. Trump would not watch the majority of the hearing.
“The President will be watching Congressman Nunes’ opening statement, but the rest of the day he will be working hard for the American people,” Grisham said in a statement. — Grace Segers
Nunes denounces Democrats, citing White House summary of first Ukraine call
9:23 a.m.: In his opening statement, Ranking Member Devin Nunes condemned Democrats for holding “day-long TV spectacles” instead of working on legislation like a trade agreement or funding the government.
He said the Democratic case was based on hearsay, and pointed out that five Democrats on the Intelligence Committee have already voted to impeach Mr. Trump.
“Democrats have been vowing to oust President Trump since the day he was elected,” Nunes said. “So Americans can rightly suspect that his phone call with President Zelensky was used as an excuse for the Democrats to fulfill their Watergate fantasies.”
Nunes also condemned Schiff for sending a memo to Republicans on the committee warning of referrals to the Ethics Committee if they attempted to “out” the whistleblower.
Nunes propagated the theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, which has been widely debunked, including by Bill Taylor and George Kent.
Nunes also read a summary of Mr. Trump’s first call with Zelensky, after Zelensky was elected in April. The White House released the summary just minutes before the hearing began. — Grace Segers
Schiff says Yovanovitch’s removal kicked off chain of events leading to aid delay
9:15 a.m.: As the hearing got underway, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff praised Yovanovitch and her track record of opposing corruption during her time in Kiev. Schiff quoted George Kent, who testified on Wednesday and said, “You can’t promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing-off corrupt people.”
“And Ambassador Yovanovitch did not just ‘piss off’ corrupt Ukrainians, like the corrupt former prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko, but also certain Americans like Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and two individuals, now indicted, who worked with him, Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas,” Schiff said.
Giuliani and his associates coordinated a smear campaign against Yovanovitch, who eventually was dismissed due to suspicions that she opposed Mr. Trump.
“Some have argued that a president has the ability to nominate or remove any ambassador he wants, that they serve at the pleasure of the president. And that is true. The question before us is not whether Donald Trump could recall an American ambassador with a stellar reputation for fighting corruption in Ukraine, but why would he want to?” Schiff continued, preempting a Republican argument that Yovanovitch served at the discretion of the president.
Schiff argued that removing Yovanovitch from Kiev set in motion the chain of events which led to the withholding of aid to Ukraine, which several witnesses have alleged was conditioned on Ukraine opening investigations into the Bidens.
“Ambassador Yovanovitch was serving our nation’s interest in fighting corruption in Ukraine, but she was considered an obstacle to the furtherance of the President’s personal and political agenda. For that she was smeared and cast aside. The powers of the presidency are immense, but they are not absolute and cannot be used for a corrupt purpose,” Schiff concluded. — Grace Segers
Yovanovitch arrives at Capitol for hearing
8:43 a.m.: Yovanovitch arrived at the Capitol ahead of the start of the hearing, waiting in a holding room before her testimony begins. — Stefan Becket
Trump denies blocking aid to Ukraine over investigations
8:20 a.m.: President Trump tweeted a quote by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko late on Thursday evening, in which Prystaiko denied that releasing aid to Ukraine was conditioned on opening investigations into the Bidens.
“Democrats must apologize to USA: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that “United States Ambassador Gordon Sondland did NOT link financial military assistance to a request for Ukraine to open up an investigation into former V.P. Joe Biden & his son, Hunter Biden … Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and the investigation.” THE FAKE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY IS NOW DEAD!” Mr. Trump wrote in two tweets.
In revised testimony behind closed doors before the committees conducting the impeachment inquiry, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland recalled telling an adviser to the Ukrainian president on September 1 that the aid was “likely” conditioned on announcing an investigation into the Bidens.
Bill Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, testified in an open hearing on Wednesday that a staffer of his overheard Sondland speaking with Mr. Trump on July 26 about “the investigations,” with Sondland saying that Ukraine was ready to proceed. — Grace Segers
What Yovanovitch said in closed-door testimony
7:15 a.m.: The former ambassador appeared before the committees on October 11, and a transcript of the testimony was released on November 4.
Yovanovitch testified she learned in late 2018 that Giuliani and former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko had plans to “do things, including to me.” She said Lutsenko and Giuliani had several meetings, and Lutsenko sought to remove her in retribution for the embassy’s efforts to rid the prosecutor general’s office of corruption.
She said she and other State Department officials had concerns about Giuliani’s role in Ukraine, but they did not feel they could stop his efforts. Giuliani spread rumors about Yovanovitch, including allegations she opposed Mr. Trump and was standing in the way of investigations into alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections and the Bidens.
Read more here.
How the second hearing will play out
6:30 a.m.: Friday’s proceedings will follow the same format as Wednesday’s, and adhere to the rules adopted by the full House several weeks ago.
Beginning shortly after 9 a.m., Chairman Adam Schiff and Ranking Member Devin Nunes will deliver opening statements. Yovanovitch will then be sworn in and allowed to read a statement of her own.
Schiff and Nunes will then each control a period of 45 minutes, when they can ask questions or delegate to staff members to do so. On Wednesday, Schiff turned to Daniel Goldman, senior adviser and director of investigations on the committee, to ask question the witnesses. Nunes designated Steve Castor, the general counsel for the Republican minority on the House Oversight Committee.
After that, the hearing will move to questioning from individual members, alternating periods of five minutes between both parties. Schiff can add additional rounds at his discretion.
Yovanovitch can also request breaks in questioning if needed. Wednesday’s session lasted more than five and a half hours, but also featured opening statements from two witnesses, so Friday’s hearing could be slightly shorter. — Stefan Becket
What Republicans hope to accomplish at Friday’s hearing
5:45 a.m.: Republicans are going to try to establish three main points during the Yovanovitch hearing on Friday, a senior GOP aide tells CBS News.
First, they will try to demonstrate that the president had every right to recall her from her post and the reasons for him doing so were totally reasonable, arguing that the president had a good faith belief that there were problems with Yovanovitch and the situation in Ukraine. They’ll point out that Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, also said he had concerns with Yovanovitch on his July 25 call with Mr. Trump. If the host country doesn’t want her there, that in and of itself is a reason to recall her, not that the president needs a reason, this argument goes.
Second, they’ll emphasize that Yovanovitch was recalled in May and wasn’t involved during the relevant time period over the summer.
Lastly, the Republicans will note Yovanovitch is on the record talking about Ukrainian corruption and talked about it in an Oval Office meeting in 2017. — Rebecca Kaplan
What Democrats hope to accomplish with Yovanovitch’s testimony
5:00 a.m.: While testimony from Bill Taylor and George Kent on Tuesday was meant to provide a full timeline of efforts to pressure Ukraine, Democrats see former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as their messenger to highlight the consequences of a shadow foreign policy that emerged. Yovanovitch testifies Friday morning.
“She was removed in the spring of this year … because she was so effective, and of course that cleared the way for the president’s allies to take over Ukraine policy, and ultimately press for these political investigations beneficial to the president’s 2020 campaign throughout the summer,” said a Democratic aide working on the impeachment process. “She’s really witness to, and kind of a victim of, the first chapter of the story.”
Democrats will draw attention to Mr. Trump’s comments about Yovanovitch on the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the president called her “bad news” and said she was “going to go through some things.” In her closed-door testimony, Yovanovitch said, “I didn’t know what it meant. I was very concerned. I still am.” She told investigators she felt threatened.
She also said she learned Giuliani wanted her removed from office when she found out he had met with Yuriy Lutsenko, a former Ukrainian prosecutor. “Mr. Lutsenko … was in communication with Mayor Giuliani and that they had plans, and that they were going to, you know, do things, including to me,” she said.
They’ll also highlight Yovanovitch’s exemplary record, as described by other nonpolitical witnesses in the impeachment inquiry. — Rebecca Kaplan
