Former Top State Dept. Aide Tells Impeachment Investigators He Quit Over Ukraine
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON A former top aide to Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, told Congress on Wednesday that he resigned amid mounting frustrations over the Trump administrations sidelining of career diplomats working on Ukraine policy and its failure to support them in the face of the impeachment inquiry, several people familiar with his testimony said.
In several hours of closed-door testimony, Michael McKinley, who until last week was a senior adviser to Mr. Pompeo, described his disappointment with how politicized the State Department had become under President Trump, saying that the last straw for him was the ouster of Marie L. Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine whom Mr. Trump ordered removed.
Mr. McKinley said that he had tried to get top State Department officials to publicly support Ms. Yovanovitch against what he viewed as a politically motivated smear campaign, and ultimately received no response, according to two of the people familiar with his testimony, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe a closed-door deposition.
The timing of my resignation was the result of two overriding concerns: the failure, in my view, of the State Department to offer support to Foreign Service employees caught up in the impeachment inquiry on Ukraine, Mr. McKinley said in an opening statement, according to a former colleague familiar with his testimony. And, second, by what appears to be the utilization of our ambassadors overseas to advance a domestic political objective.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-top-state-dept-aide-tells-impeachment-investigators-he-quit-over-ukraine/ar-AAISxw3?li=BBnbcA1
Seems Trump's bullshit is finally getting to federal workers.
BumRushDaShow
(127,312 posts)The rank and file State Department folks had already been leaving in droves - especially due to Pompeo's predecessor - Rex Tillerson.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)How on earth did he escape tRump's wrath? Truth tellers, or people with strong ethics are usually dispensed with fast in this administration. Pompeo. Barr, Pence and others need to be removed from office along with their orange master. Makes me proud to support the democratic side of the aisle. You know, the truly patriotic, hard working people who love this country. The gop gets the dregs like Gym Jordan who can not see sexual abuse even when it is pointed out to him. Goetz, the DUI slob, who THINKS he is smart. Graham who suddenly changed his mind about tRump after one golf game. I wonder what he was told while out on the course? Moscow Mitch who leads the gop, while keeping them in line while he pads his bank account with Russian money. I can not think of ONE republican that I have respect for. They are all weak willed traitors.