Trump donor accused of spying on Yovanovitch hands 'everything' to Congress, reports say

A donor to Donald Trump who was accused of "stalking" the former ambassador to Ukraine at the behest of Rudy Giuliani's associates has provided documents to Congress as it opens its investigation into the ousting of Marie Yovanovitch, a crucial witness in the president's impeachment.

The Daily Beast reports that Robert Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate from Connecticut, gave "everything" he had between himself and Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who has been indicted for campaign finance violations involving foreign money.

Mr Hyde told the outlet he gave the House Foreign Affairs Committee "everything that I had between Parnas and I". He said the committee wanted to "talk about Parnas and how I know him" and said that "you should look into Parnas. Bad man".

Messages given to House Democrats last month showed Mr Hyde's communication with Mr Parnas suggested that Ms Yovanovitch was under physical surveillance before she was recalled from her post last year, allegedly at Mr Giuliani's urging. Mr Hyde says he was only "joking around" in those messages, and that Ms Yovanovitch was not being stalked.

The ambassador was allegedly an interference in the president's efforts to pressure Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky​ to find politically damaging information on former vice president and political rival Joe Biden, whose son was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

That scheme was at the heart of the abuse of power charge in Mr Trump's impeachment, which also included an obstruction of Congress charge for the ensuing alleged cover-up.

In a recently released audio recording captured by Mr Parnas, Mr Trump can be heard telling him and Igor Fruman to "get rid of her" and "take her out".

In his 25 July phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which was at the heart of his impeachment, Mr Trump said of Ms Yovanovitch: "Well, she's going to go through some things."

In the weeks leading up to her departure from Ukraine, Ms Yovanovitch was the target of a smear campaign, partly in coordination with a reporter from Washington website The Hill, intended to discredit the ambassador and legitimise her removal.

Congress continues to investigate Mr Giuliani's efforts despite the president's acquittal in his impeachment trial in the Senate, where Republicans blocked efforts to bring witnesses to the stand or introduce any newly emerged evidence.

After she left Ukraine, Ms Yovanovitch became a senior state department fellow at Georgetown University, then announced her retirement in January. She served as an ambassador in several countries under three presidents before her appointment to Ukraine, where she served from August 2016 until her removal in May 2019.

She gave testimony to the impeachment hearings late last year, receiving a round of applause from observers as she left the chamber.