Diplomat at centre of Trump impeachment retires from state department

The US ambassador whose abrupt recall from Ukraine helped lead to President Donald Trump’s impeachment has retired from the State Department, a person familiar with her plans confirmed on Friday.

Marie Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, had been expected to leave the Foreign Service after she was ordered back to Washington from Kyiv, Ukraine, ahead of schedule last spring, accused of being disloyal to Trump.

But documents and testimony later showed that she was the target of a smear campaign for, in part, refusing to grant visas to former Ukrainian officials who were investigating Trump’s political rivals.

On a July 25 telephone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine, Trump described Yovanovitch as “bad news” and said, ominously, “She’s going to go through some things.”

She possibly already had: Text messages between Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani and his associates that were released publicly earlier this month indicated that Yovanovitch was under surveillance while still in Kyiv — a claim that the State Department and Ukraine security officials are investigating.

State Department officials have suggested that Yovanovitch was pulled from Kyiv because of concerns about her security. But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has refused to publicly support her, or clarify why she was recalled to the United States, setting off an internal revolt of diplomats who have rallied to her defence.

Yovanovitch was a star witness for House Democrats in their impeachment inquiry. She described being “shocked, appalled, devastated” upon learning of what the president said about her to Zelenskiy.

The Senate is all but assured to acquit Trump in a vote scheduled for Wednesday that will end his impeachment trial.

At its heart was whether Trump could be held liable for appearing to withhold $391 million in security aid from Ukraine — money that Congress had already approved — until Zelenskiy announced an investigation into a company that had employed Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Trump.

Yovanovitch’s retirement from the State Department, after 33 years of service, was first reported on Friday by National Public Radio. She could not be immediately reached for comment, and the State Department did not return calls and messages seeking comment Friday night.

Since returning to Washington last spring, Yovanovitch has been assigned to a fellowship at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, and she is scheduled to receive an award in February from the university’s School of Foreign Service for “Excellence in the Conduct of Diplomacy.”

© 2019 New York Times News Service