AOC says Trump 'clearly not satisfied with only one article of impeachment' as president attacks witness
Congresswoman says president 'wants to sign up for another article on obstruction of justice, too'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Donald Trump for tweeting attacks on a key witness in his impeachment as the official testified before House investigators, saying the president "is clearly not satisfied with only one article of impeachment".
The New York Democrat denounced Mr Trump’s tweet after the president claimed that everywhere ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch went “turned bad,” adding it was his “absolute right to appoint ambassadors”.
In a tweet of her own, the congresswoman said of Mr Trump: “His choice to publicly broadcast his own, personally authored witness intimidation means [he] wants to sign up for another article on obstruction of justice, too.”
Ms Yovanovitch delivered a damning public testimony about the president’s dealings with Ukraine, describing a “crisis in the State Department” under Mr Trump and saying she faced “a campaign of disinformation” led in part by his former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
The president unleashed on his former Ukraine ambassador, saying in a follow up tweet that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “spoke unfavourably about her in my second phone call with him” and suggesting he had “done FAR more for Ukraine” than former President Barack Obama.
His attacks on Ms Yovanovitch became the subject of widespread disapproval from both Democrats and Republicans, who — in a rare departure — denounced Mr Trump’s remarks as an essential form of witness tampering.
Fox News host Bret Baier also said on live television that Mr Trump’s tweets were “adding essentially an article of impeachment” in real-time.
Ken Starr, who spearheaded an investigation against former President Bill Clinton, also went on the conservative news outlet and said the president had exercised “extraordinarily poor judgement”.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff addressed the attacks against Ms Yovanovitch during the hearings, asking what she thought of the president’s statement.
“Very intimidating”, she responded.
Ms Yovanovitch was removed from her post in Ukraine in a move that had a “chilling effect” on the State Department, the former official described.
She said the past few months have been “a very painful period” in her life, adding: “There’s a question as to why the kind of campaign to get me out of Ukraine happened.”
“In my line of work … all we have is our reputation”, she said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments