In his opening statement top diplomat Bill Taylor says Ukraine aid was tied to investigation of Bidens and DNC in 2016. Ambassador Taylor said he kept copious notes of his meetings and conversations with Rudy Giuliani, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others. He began to write the 15 pages as soon as he arrived in Kiev and realized that the United States relationship with the Ukrainians was taking place outside official channels. After serving this country for decades, the diplomar knew from the start that what was happening was not the normal way of doing business. The ambassador has been described by GOP supporters as “a radical unelected bureaucrat,” but he was asked to come out of retirement by Mike Pompeo himself. In his testimony, Taylor says that he was deeply concerned about the fact that withholding aid to Ukraine was costing Ukrainian lives.
By way of comparison let’s look t what is happening at this very moment with the Kurds. Donald Trump gave Erdogan the green light to invade northern Syria and take over territory inhabited by the Kurds who fought alongside U.S. forces to get rid of ISIS. And just as it happened in Ukraine, Trump’s decision is costing hundreds and perhaps thousands of lives. Ambassador Taylor’s testimony is clear and precise about how and when the Ukrainians were affected by the lack of funds that had been approved. Nevertheless the Republicans who were present at the start of the testimony did not ask any relevant questions, guiding their questions to unproved allegations. Undoubtedly Ambassador Taylor’s testimony provides Congress with more evidence of illegal actions resulting from Trump’s call to the Ukrainian president. Maybe this will do what the Mueller report could not do, and politicians from both parties will reach the same conclusion: this president must go.