Top US diplomat bashes leadership in Trump probe

A top United States diplomat described the "degradation" of American foreign policy Friday while testifying in the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine on Friday.

Marie Yovanovitch, who served as Washington's Ambassador to Ukraine from August 2016 until she was abruptly removed in May, gave a scathing account of US diplomacy to the probe in the Democratic-led House of Representatives.

Yovanovitch described "grave concerns about the degradation of the foreign service over the past few years and the failure of State Department leadership to push back as foreign and corrupt interests apparently hijacked our Ukraine policy."

Addressing the House Intelligence Committee probe into whether Trump used military aid to Ukraine as leverage to secure political favors, Yovanovitch said diplomats had been "denigrated and undermined" as the department was "being degraded."

As Yovanovitch testified, Trump, tweeted the diplomat had been largely unsuccessful in her job, saying that Somalia and other postings had "turned bad" when she was stationed in those places.

Asked for her response, Yovanovitch said the president's comments were "very intimidating."

Democrats in the House opened an impeachment inquiry against Trump on Sept. 24 following claims by a whistle-blower that the president tried to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential elections.

In a July 25 phone call, Trump allegedly made $400 million in military aid contingent on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launching a probe into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter, a businessman, over unsubstantiated corruption allegations.

The elder Biden is a leading candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump for the presidency in 2020.

Trump, a Republican, has accused Democrats of wasting time and said the inquiry is a "witch-hunt," a "hoax" and maintains he did nothing wrong in his dealings with the eastern European nation.