WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday declined to comment about US President Donald Trump's attack against former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanotich last week.
"I'll defer to the White House about particular statements and the like, I don't have anything else to say about the Democrats' impeachment proceeding," Pompeo said when asked if he agreed with Trump's assessment that Yovanovitch did poorly as ambassador.
On Friday, Trump criticized Yovanovitch's diplomatic work in a series of tweets, saying "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad." He added that he had the right to fire Yovanovitch.
Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Friday as part of the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats. She also testified in a closed-door hearing in October.
House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry in September after a whistleblower complaint revealed Trump may have abused his power. The complaint alleged that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a July 25 phone call to investigate possible corruption of former Vice President Joe Biden - Trump's political rival in the 2020 election - and his son Hunter Biden.
Trump released right away the transcript of the telephone call and said there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with Ukraine. Trump characterized the impeachment inquiry as yet another political witch hunt by Democrats aimed at reversing the result of the 2016 presidential election.
