Diplomat: Trump linked Ukraine aid to demand for probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor provided lawmakers Tuesday with a vivid, detailed and what some called a “disturbing” account of the way President Donald Trump wanted to put the new Ukraine president “in a public box” by demanding the quid pro quo at the center of the impeachment probe.

In a lengthy opening statement to House investigators, Taylor described Trump’s demand that “everything” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wanted, including vital military aid to counter Russia, hinged on making a public vow that he would investigate Democrats going back to the 2016 U.S. election as well as a company linked to the family of Trump’s potential 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Taylor testified that what he discovered in Kyiv was the Trump administration’s “irregular” back channel to foreign policy led by the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and “ultimately alarming circumstances” that threatened to erode the United States’ relationship with a budding Eastern European ally.

Lawmakers who emerged after hours of the private deposition were stunned at Taylor’s account, which some said established a “direct line” to the quid pro quo at the center of the impeachment probe.

“It was shocking,” said Rep. Karen Bass, a California Democrat. “It was very clear that it was required — if you want the assistance you have to make a public statement.”