Marie Yovanovitch, the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, will testify Nov. 15.
Taylor, in his deposition last month, told lawmakers that the White House had threatened to withhold much-needed and congressionally appropriated U.S. military aid unless Ukraine announced investigations for Trump’s political benefit.
“I think you will see … the most important facts are largely not contested,” Schiff told reporters. He said House investigators “are getting an increasing appreciation for just what took place in the course of the last year.”
The Democrats’ decision to call Yovanovitch, Taylor and Kent as their first public witnesses demonstrates a preference for career Foreign Service officers with deep expertise in Ukraine and experience working under both Republican and Democratic presidents.
In each of their testimony, the three diplomats displayed a mastery of Ukrainian politics and a warning about the untrustworthiness of the ex-Ukrainian officials the president’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, relied on to push conspiracy theories about Ukraine’s involvement in the 2016 election and the actions of former vice president Joe Biden.
Taylor, in particular, testified that Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, said U.S. security assistance to Ukraine was dependent on Ukraine announcing investigations that Trump desired. That claim of a quid pro quo initially contradicted Sondland’s testimony, but this week, Sondland said he misremembered events, and he confirmed the accuracy of Taylor’s account.
The announcement came as David Hale, the State Department’s third-ranking official, testified privately before House investigators, who were preparing to release more transcripts of depositions that have propelled the inquiry.
