The Trump administration removed a U.S. ambassador from her post in Ukraine last May. Now, the envoy's ouster has emerged as a key event behind a complaint alleging that the president pressured a foreign country to investigate a political rival.
FILE - In this March 6, 2019 file photo, then U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, center, sits during her meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Ukraine. Months before the call that set off an impeachment inquiry, many in the diplomatic community were alarmed by the Trump administration’s abrupt removal of a career diplomat from her post as ambassador to Ukraine.
“Why was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine recalled in May 2019?” the Democratic senator wrote in a list of questions about what he called the “perversion of U.S. foreign policy” outlined by the whistleblower. “Did you approve that decision?” But, in private, many in the diplomatic community in the U.S. and around the world were appalled, believing she had been improperly removed from a sensitive post at a critical moment, as a new president without any previous political experience was taking office in a struggling country in dire need of American economic and military aid in an ongoing fight against Russia-backed separatists.
At first, the officials said, Pompeo resisted the demands for her recall and argued she should complete her tour in Kyiv. Pompeo “was opposed to her early removal,” one of the current officials said. However, when it became clear that opposition to her was not receding, Pompeo arranged for “a soft landing” for her in Washington, according to the official.
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