1. Today's Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Show
WSJ Headline: Obama Appointee Denied Long Tenure as Trump Ambassador
Once again today, public was vividly reminded why voters should be the ones to decide when the Trump presidency ends.
WSJ Headline: Obama Appointee Denied Long Tenure as Trump Ambassador
Once again today, public was vividly reminded why voters should be the ones to decide when the Trump presidency ends.
2. "Nobody enjoys getting fired. And getting fired by Trump can be particularly unpleasant. But as involuntary separations go, an Obama ambassador being reassigned to another job within the State Dept while picking up a Georgetown fellowship is not the hardest of landings."
3. "Also, for anyone persuaded by former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s congressional testimony today that she was the key to a free and independent Ukraine free of corruption, it’s worth noting two relevant issues."
4. On the corruption front, the Obama administration helped her prepare to field questions at her Senate confirmation hearing in June of 2016 about Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma. The company was then under investigation in Ukraine.
5. Team Obama knew there was a powerful aroma surrounding the Biden deal and that Ms. Yovanovitch needed to be armed with talking points. As it turned out, nobody asked her about the Biden deal in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and she didn’t volunteer any comments.
6. After confirmation she wasn't any more eager to address the topic. Even though Bidens have been unable to explain what Hunter Biden was doing for his lucrative compensation, it seems that the vaunted anti-corruption champion Yovanovitch didn’t think it was worth pursuing.
7. On the issue of Ukrainian independence, the former ambassador affirmed once again today that President Trump’s decision to approve the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine was critical to the country’s ability to defend itself against Russian aggression.
8. But back in June of 2016, when Ms. Yovanovitch was appearing before lawmakers and seeking confirmation as Mr. Obama’s ambassador, she never mentioned the need for Javelins. Because Obama was more interested in sending Ukraine blankets.
9. So exactly how and when did Ms. Yovanovitch become a great anticorruption and Ukraine independence champion?
10. Ms. Yovanovitch is clearly well spoken and everyone recognized her 33 years of service for the State Department, and to be sure she did not deserve any unnecessary smearing (no one does), but tenure alone is highly insufficient to render anyone sacrosanct.
11. Ms. Yovanovitch herself acknowledged that President Trump was well within his rights to terminate her ambassadorship and also agreed that it is the right policy that a President have that right.
12. Her only beef seems to be with her State Dept colleagues who she thinks did not stand up for her adequately. If she has any objections to President Trump's behavior, they are all related to "but he didn't follow the established State Dept process for such and such thing."
13. Why Adam Schiff offered Ms. Yovanovitch up as a star witness for his impeachment putsch remains a mystery as she had no first-hand knowledge of anything remotely related to the events around President Trump's interactions with President Zelensky. But here we are.
The End
The End
She must have wanted the job so bad, she didn't mind overlooking corruption, or at least the appearance of corruption which was against the U.S. national interest, to get it. Ambassadorship was too plum a job for a 'career diplomat' to pass up for a little thing like that.
And just to be sure whether Ms. Yovanovitch speaks unvarnished truth or whether she shades the truth to suit her purposes, please listen to this carefully and decide for yourselves.
