Trump impeachment: Administration 'unceremoniously' recalls US diplomat who condemned decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine
President dismissed veteran William Taylor as ‘never-Trumper’
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Your support makes all the difference.The Trump administration is recalling early a senior US diplomat who condemned the president’s threat to withhold military aid to Ukraine.
On the eve of an impeachment vote in the House, reports said William Taylor, a veteran diplomat who had once served as ambassador to Kiev and again filled that role after Mr Trump and Rudy Giuliani ordered Marie Yovanovitch, to be returned to Washington, will leave at the beginning of the new year.
Because he was filling in as the top diplomat there rather than operating as a Senate-confirmed ambassador, Mr Taylor was limited by law to the number of days he could serve.
However, Democrats claimed he was being recalled to Washington early ahead of a possible visit to Ukraine by secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
Senator Robert Menendez, of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Mr Taylor, 72, was being treated the same as Ms Yovanovitch.
“I am extremely concerned that this suspect decision furthers the president’s inappropriate and unacceptable linking of US policy to Ukraine to his personal and political benefit, and potentially your own,” Mr Menendez wrote in a letter to Mr Pompeo.
“By unceremoniously recalling ambassador Taylor early, in a manner similar to ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s removal, you would once again denigrate the role of our frontline diplomats serving around the world,” he wrote.
Reports said Mr Trump was angry with Mr Taylor when he testified before House impeachment investigators about dealing with a parallel diplomatic channel with Ukraine. He later dubbed him a “never-Trumper”.
Mr Taylor grew concerned when it appeared that Mr rump’s hand-picked team was withholding vital military aid to the new Ukrainian government in exchange for a public pledge to open an investigation into the president’s political rival former vice president Joe Biden.
“Holding up of security assistance that would go to a country that is fighting aggression from Russia for no good policy reason, no good substantive reason, no good national security reason is wrong,” said Mr Taylor.
Mr Taylor will be reportedly be replaced on an interim basis by his current deputy, Kristina Kvien.
Officials said the White House is likely to nominate retired Army Gen. Keith Dayton to be the next ambassador to Ukraine.
Ms Yovanovitch was recalled in May, after apparently getting in the way of Mr Giuliani’s efforts to force Kiev to investigate Mr Biden.
Additional reporting Associated Press
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