Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, testifies before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine told a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump on Friday that corrupt Ukrainians found Americans willing to work with them to oust her.
Marie Yovanovitch told the U.S. House Intelligence Committee that not all Ukrainians “embraced” U.S. anti-corruption work.
“Thus, 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. 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,” she said.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Tim Ahmann