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News > U.S.

'Trump Prioritized His Interests', US Ambassador to Ukraine Says

  • Start of the first open House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Nov. 13, 2019.

    Start of the first open House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Nov. 13, 2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 14 November 2019
Opinion

The start of the impeachment process has not altered US voter opinions about Trump yet.

During a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing held on Wednesday, the acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor revealed that President Donald Trump prioritized his interests in the relationship with Ukraine and threatened this country with freezing military aid if its authorities did not initiate an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden's family.

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The U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine made those statements at the first hearing of an investigation which could lead to a political trial against Trump.

This could happen if it is demonstrated that the U.S. president abused his position by asking foreign rulers to investigate a U.S. politician who could be his rival in the 2020 presidential campaign.

Taylor also revealed that one of his team members heard a phone call between Trump and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

"Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for," Taylor testified, referring to Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer.

Taylor also said that withholding military aid from Ukraine, which has been locked in conflict with Russia since 2014, undermined U.S. strategic interests.

"It was counterproductive to all of what we had been trying to do," he said and commented that "it was illogical... It was crazy."​​​​​​​

The impeachment investigation hearings will be broadcast on television, which could persuade US citizens that Trump deserves to be removed from office or that he does not deserve their vote.

So far, the political trial against Trump is supported by 75 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of Republicans, according to a Reuters poll conducted in early November.​​​​​​​

Nevertheless, undecided voters would seem to be convinced that the impeachment procedure will not help them change their stances.

"It's just a show," Kurt Zuhlke, a businessman who voted for Trump in 2016, said and admitted that he remains undecided for the 2020 elections.​​​​​​​

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