1/17 Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is a hero.
Let's begin there.
She did not set out to be a hero.
She set out to serve her country with skills carefully learned over a lifetime in the Foreign Service.
And she did.
#GeeksResist #DemCast #OneVoice1
vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/a…
Let's begin there.
She did not set out to be a hero.
She set out to serve her country with skills carefully learned over a lifetime in the Foreign Service.
And she did.
#GeeksResist #DemCast #OneVoice1
vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/a…
2/17 A career diplomat, she served in the State Department since 1986. This means she served under Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama before doing so under Trump.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
3/17 She is the Canadian-born daughter of Russians who fled the USSR & Nazis, served 30 years in the Foreign Service wing of the State Dept., moved 13 times to serve in 7 countries, & is former ambassador to Kyrgyzstan (2004-08) & Armenia (2008-11).
ctpost.com/local/article/…
ctpost.com/local/article/…
4/17 Trump himself appointed Yovanovitch ambassador to Ukraine in 2016.
FIVE of her postings were what are called "hardship posts", diplomatic posts where living conditions are difficult due to climate, crime, health care, pollution or other factors. afsa.org/memorial-plaqu…
FIVE of her postings were what are called "hardship posts", diplomatic posts where living conditions are difficult due to climate, crime, health care, pollution or other factors. afsa.org/memorial-plaqu…
5/17 The American Foreign Service Association maintains a wall of memorial plaques dedicated to those who have given their lives in the line of duty.
Most of those deaths occurred in hardship posts. This is what it means to be a career diplomat for many.
afsa.org/afsa-memorial-…
Most of those deaths occurred in hardship posts. This is what it means to be a career diplomat for many.
afsa.org/afsa-memorial-…
6/17 It is the life Marie Yovanovitch committed to and as an ambassador known for pushing AGAINST corruption, she was a roadblock to those who sought to create and use corruption in Ukraine.
She had to go. politifact.com/truth-o-meter/…
She had to go. politifact.com/truth-o-meter/…
7/17 Numerous State Department officials pushed for Sec. of State Mike Pompeo to support her as the smear campaign against Yovanovitch came out.
They did not reckon with the fact that he was a willing part of that campaign. cnn.com/2019/11/16/opi…
They did not reckon with the fact that he was a willing part of that campaign. cnn.com/2019/11/16/opi…
8/17 Half a world away, Amb. Yovanovitch could only glean bits and pieces of what was happening to her, rumors and shadowy threats. Gordon Sondland urged her to pledge her loyalty to Trump and Pompeo lied and pretended to not understand what was happening. motherjones.com/politics/2019/…
9/17 The call came for Marie Yovanovitch to leave at the suspiciously timed moment she was hosting an event commemorating Kateryna Handziuk, a Ukrainian anti-corruption activist killed in a horrifying acid attack. washingtonpost.com/world/2019/11/…
10/17 Trump told Zelensky in July, "she's going to go through some things."
This timing, and her hurried, harried flight from Ukraine with nothing but vague threats that they could not "guarantee her security", certainly seems to fit that bill.
nyti.ms/2maIwpR
This timing, and her hurried, harried flight from Ukraine with nothing but vague threats that they could not "guarantee her security", certainly seems to fit that bill.
nyti.ms/2maIwpR
11/17 Fast-forward to the hearings. As the Trump regime threw up a wall around documents & witnesses, Marie Yovanovitch broke ranks to speak of her experiences.
At first all we had was closed door testimony.
What she had to say was daunting already. n.pr/2PNI5hp
At first all we had was closed door testimony.
What she had to say was daunting already. n.pr/2PNI5hp
12/17 But her live testimony Friday was truly remarkable. Set aside for a moment Trump's live-tweeted effort at witness tampering and the GOP's reindeer games and efforts to cast her as irrelevant or uncertain. nbcnews.com/politics/trump…
13/17 What you want to watch are her interactions with the Democrats.
When the hearing begins, she feels bewildered but determined, genuinely at a loss as to why she was treated so. She even asks outright why it was necessary to smear her reputation. mediaite.com/a/aqdej
When the hearing begins, she feels bewildered but determined, genuinely at a loss as to why she was treated so. She even asks outright why it was necessary to smear her reputation. mediaite.com/a/aqdej
14/17 It gradually becomes obvious that, even if we've been following the larger story, she hasn't; she many times admits she's only vaguely aware of other testimony & events.
Nobody can blame her for avoiding them, given what she personally faced. theguardian.com/us-news/live/2…
Nobody can blame her for avoiding them, given what she personally faced. theguardian.com/us-news/live/2…
15/17 My wife put it perfectly: she seemed traumatized, as one might who was personally attacked by the President of the United States and was chased out of a country, and her career, under a cloud of fear and lies.
16/17 As the Democrats laid out the pieces, you could see Ambassador Yovanovitch putting them together in real time.
The watershed moment is when Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi set it out.
You can see and hear full understanding dawn on her.
The watershed moment is when Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi set it out.
You can see and hear full understanding dawn on her.
17/17 Faced with the shock of finally comprehending why your career and life were targetted by the people who were supposed to protect and support you, could any of us have handled this better?
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is a hero.
Our hero.
#GeeksResist #DemCast #OneVoice1
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is a hero.
Our hero.
#GeeksResist #DemCast #OneVoice1
