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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 7 November 2019

State Dept. undersecretary testifies in impeachment inquiry

By MATTHEW LEE the hold-up in military as-
AP Diplomatic Writer sistance for Ukraine and
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump's push for the coun-
State Department's third- try to open investigations.
ranking official testified Gordon Sondland, Trump's
Wednesday for more than ambassador to the Euro-
six hours in the House Dem- pean Union, said in an ad-
ocrats' impeachment in- dendum to his testimony
quiry as they investigate released Tuesday that
President Donald Trump's military assistance to the
dealings with Ukraine. East European ally was be-
David Hale had been ex- ing withheld until Ukraine's
pected to tell lawmakers new president agreed to
that political considerations release a statement about
were behind the agency's fighting corruption as
refusal to deliver a robust Trump wanted.
defense of the former U.S. Also scheduled to tes-
ambassador to Ukraine. tify Wednesday was State
People familiar with the Department Counselor T.
matter said Hale, the high- Ulrich Brechbuhl, an ad-
est-ranking career diplo- viser to Pompeo and close
mat in the foreign service, friend of the secretary. But
planned to say Secretary Brechbuhl did not appear,
of State Mike Pompeo David Hale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, instead departing with
and other senior officials Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, to be interview for the impeachment inquiry. Pompeo on a trip to Ger-
determined that publicly Associated Press many early Wednesday
defending ousted Ambas- Impeachment investigators partment did not step up He is the highest-ranking morning.
sador Marie Yovanovitch had scheduled interviews to defend its top envoy in State Department official Two more witnesses
would hurt the effort to free with 13 witnesses this week, Kyiv. According to the peo- to testify to impeachment who were scheduled
up U.S. military assistance but Hale was the first to ple familiar with the matter, investigators. for Wednesday — Russ
to Ukraine. show up. A series of White he was expected to say Other department officials Vought, the acting direc-
Hale also planned to say House witnesses have de- he tried to distance himself have testified that they tor of the White House Of-
that the State Department clined to testify, even under and the department by re- had concerns about Yova- fice of Management and
worried about the reaction subpoena, after Trump di- moving himself from email novitch's ouster and Giu- Budget, and Rick Perry, the
from Trump's personal attor- rected them to stay away. chains about Yovanovitch. liani's role in it. Democrats Energy secretary — did not
ney Rudy Giuliani, who was Yovanovitch has already Hale, for example, never are looking for connections show up. Both have strong-
one of the strongest ad- appeared before inves- responded to an email sent between her dismissal, ly criticized the probe.q
vocates for removing the tigators in the impeach- by former top Pompeo ad-
ambassador, according ment inquiry into Trump. viser Michael McKinley urg-
to the people, who were According to a transcript ing Pompeo to speak out
not authorized to publicly of her interview released in defense of Yovanovitch
discuss Hale's appearance this week, she detailed ef- after the White House re-
and spoke on condition of forts by Giuliani and other leased a rough transcript
anonymity. Trump allies to push her out of Trump's phone call with
Hale's testimony came as of Ukraine, testifying that a Zelenskiy, the officials said.
the committees leading senior Ukrainian official told One official said Hale had
the impeachment investi- her that "I really needed to "tried to take himself out of
gation began to wrap up watch my back." the loop on Ukraine." But
their closed-door interviews She also testified that she another official said Hale
in the probe. The panels asked Hale to get Pompeo would defend Pompeo's
this week also are releasing to issue a statement de- actions as "politically smart"
transcripts from previous fending her, but that state- for the department and its
interviews, in which law- ment never came. She said employees in the long run.
makers scrutinized Trump's Hale asked her to send him Hale, a fluent Arabic
appeals to new Ukrainian a "classified email" with her speaker who joined the
President Volodymir Zelen- "understanding of what foreign service in 1984, has
skiy to investigate political was going on," which she served as ambassador to
rival Joe Biden and the ac- said she did. Lebanon, Pakistan and Jor-
tions of Democrats during Hale was expected to shed dan and in posts in Tunisia,
the 2016 U.S. election. more light on why the de- Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.