Diplomat shows courage under fire from Trump
DONALD TRUMP tweeted a “realtime” attack on a former US diplomat as she testified at his impeachment inquiry.
Marie Yovanovitch was discussing her removal in May as American ambassador to Ukraine by the White House when the President took to social media.
“Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go?” he wrote. “Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavourably about her in my second phone call with him.
“It is a US President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.
“They call it ‘serving at the pleasure of the President’.”
Moments after he tweeted, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff questioned Yovanovitch, a 33-year career diplomat, on the effect of Trump’s messages.
“Ambassador, you’ve 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 realtime – is attacking you.
“What effect do you think that has on other witnesses’ willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?”
Holding back tears, Yovanovitch answered: “It’s very intimidating.”
“It’s designed to intimidate, is it not?” Schiff asked.
“I mean, I can’t speak to what the President is trying to do, but I think the effect is trying to be intimidating,” she said.
Diplomats the world over put their lives on the line for their countries, often at an untold personal sacrifice. For her service Yovanovitch deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom, instead, she is defamed, dismissed and threatened by the very man she served.