Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Nov 14, 2019
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
"The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate." --Noah Bookbinder, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff on Friday accused President Donald Trump of engaging in "witness intimidation in real-time" after the president live-tweeted attacks on former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during her public impeachment testimony.
"It's very intimidating," Yovanovitch said of Trump's tweets.
"Some of us here take witness intimidation very seriously," replied Schiff.
Watch:
\u201c.@RepAdamSchiff: "The president implicitly threatened you in that call record, and now the president in real time is attacking you. What effect do you think that has on other witnesses' willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?"\n\nYOVANOVITCH: "It's very intimidating."\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573831804
After Yovanovitch delivered her opening remarks, Trump fired off a series of tweets bashing her record performance as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," Trump tweeted. "She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. president's absolute right to appoint ambassadors."
"They call it 'serving at the pleasure of the president,'" Trump added. "The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First!"
\u201cThe president is intimidating a witness in real time.\u201d— Robert Reich (@Robert Reich) 1573832445
During a break in the hearing, Schiff told reporters that what the American people just saw on live television "was witness intimidation in real-time by the president of the United States."
Schiff said the overt act by Trump was an effort "not just to chill [Yovanovitch] but to chill others who may come forward" in the future. He concluded by saying House lawmakers take what the president just did "very seriously."
\u201c"We saw today witness intimidation in real time by [Trump]...Going after this dedicated...career public servant in an effort to not only chill her but to chill others who may come forward. We take this kind of witness intimidation...very seriously." \u2014@RepAdamSchiff\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573833076
In response, Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said: "The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
"The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate." --Noah Bookbinder, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff on Friday accused President Donald Trump of engaging in "witness intimidation in real-time" after the president live-tweeted attacks on former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during her public impeachment testimony.
"It's very intimidating," Yovanovitch said of Trump's tweets.
"Some of us here take witness intimidation very seriously," replied Schiff.
Watch:
\u201c.@RepAdamSchiff: "The president implicitly threatened you in that call record, and now the president in real time is attacking you. What effect do you think that has on other witnesses' willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?"\n\nYOVANOVITCH: "It's very intimidating."\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573831804
After Yovanovitch delivered her opening remarks, Trump fired off a series of tweets bashing her record performance as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," Trump tweeted. "She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. president's absolute right to appoint ambassadors."
"They call it 'serving at the pleasure of the president,'" Trump added. "The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First!"
\u201cThe president is intimidating a witness in real time.\u201d— Robert Reich (@Robert Reich) 1573832445
During a break in the hearing, Schiff told reporters that what the American people just saw on live television "was witness intimidation in real-time by the president of the United States."
Schiff said the overt act by Trump was an effort "not just to chill [Yovanovitch] but to chill others who may come forward" in the future. He concluded by saying House lawmakers take what the president just did "very seriously."
\u201c"We saw today witness intimidation in real time by [Trump]...Going after this dedicated...career public servant in an effort to not only chill her but to chill others who may come forward. We take this kind of witness intimidation...very seriously." \u2014@RepAdamSchiff\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573833076
In response, Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said: "The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate."
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
"The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate." --Noah Bookbinder, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff on Friday accused President Donald Trump of engaging in "witness intimidation in real-time" after the president live-tweeted attacks on former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during her public impeachment testimony.
"It's very intimidating," Yovanovitch said of Trump's tweets.
"Some of us here take witness intimidation very seriously," replied Schiff.
Watch:
\u201c.@RepAdamSchiff: "The president implicitly threatened you in that call record, and now the president in real time is attacking you. What effect do you think that has on other witnesses' willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?"\n\nYOVANOVITCH: "It's very intimidating."\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573831804
After Yovanovitch delivered her opening remarks, Trump fired off a series of tweets bashing her record performance as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," Trump tweeted. "She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. president's absolute right to appoint ambassadors."
"They call it 'serving at the pleasure of the president,'" Trump added. "The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First!"
\u201cThe president is intimidating a witness in real time.\u201d— Robert Reich (@Robert Reich) 1573832445
During a break in the hearing, Schiff told reporters that what the American people just saw on live television "was witness intimidation in real-time by the president of the United States."
Schiff said the overt act by Trump was an effort "not just to chill [Yovanovitch] but to chill others who may come forward" in the future. He concluded by saying House lawmakers take what the president just did "very seriously."
\u201c"We saw today witness intimidation in real time by [Trump]...Going after this dedicated...career public servant in an effort to not only chill her but to chill others who may come forward. We take this kind of witness intimidation...very seriously." \u2014@RepAdamSchiff\u201d— CAP Action (@CAP Action) 1573833076
In response, Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said: "The President tweeting insults about a witness, a respected longtime foreign service officer, as she testifies before Congress is beyond inappropriate."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.