ukraine in washington was ukraine s most important strategic asset and that president zelensky should not jeopardize that bipartisan support by getting drawn in to u.s. domestic politics. i had been making and continue to make this point to all of my official ukrainian contacts. but the odd push to make president zelensky publicly commit to investigations of burisma and alleged interference in the 2016 elections showed how the official foreign policy of the united states was undercut by the irregular efforts led by mr. giuliani. that was ambassador bill taylor yesterday during the impeachment hearing recalling a meeting with senator chris murphy during their visit to ukraine. and center murphy joins us now. he s a member of the senate foreign relations committee. also with us, former u.s. senator now an nbc news and msnbc political analyst claire mccaskill.
he thought they owed him, to fix ambassador sondland told that wrong. president trump the ukrainians right. were ready to move forward. but what he was talking about, following the call with president trump, the member of as you understood it, in the my staff asked ambassador context of the conversation, sondland what president trump thought about ukraine. they owed him these investigations that he wanted. that would have been to fix ambassador sondland responded that president trump cares more the wrong, exactly. and those investigations into about the investigations of the 2016 election and biden and biden which giuliani was burisma. that s correct. now, during this early period pressing for. at the time i gave my deposition on october 22nd, i was not aware in september, we ve talked a little bit about the fact that you continually heard that the of this information. i m including it here for president was repeatedly saying completeness. as the committee knows, i that there
entire premise of this about being an instrument in democracy, that there are washington domestic reelection certain jobs that you are in fact all about protecting the politics? mr. danyliuk understood that country and not the individual who is just passing through in the oval office. these investigations were and that s what this guy has pursuant to mr. giuliani s done that is permanently damaging to the fabric of this request to develop information, country. you think about, this is the to find information about burisma and the bidens. this was very well-known in part of it that makes me so distraught about the republican public. mr. giuliani had made this point party. jim mattis resignation letter, clear in several instances in george kent s closed door the beginning, in the deposition about putin and the springtime. and mr. danyliuk was aware that leader of hinge ungary that got between transactions with the ukraine. that was a problem. why can t we look voters in the and wo
and kent talking about how he s a third generation. george kent. serving now for 60 years. testified you were unaware that these are people who could make millions of dollars in the he served as a source for that private sector and instead they project. ambassador taylor, is that still correct? chose to serve their country and it is, sir. they re serving the cause of you said you did not know freedom in eastern europe. that ukrainian internal affairs and the national security of the minister avakov mocked and united states, which both disparaged then candidate trump on facebook and twitter, is that through democratic and republican administrations have determined that the national still correct? that is correct. security of the united states ambassador taylor, in your depends on promoting freedom testimony to this committee you throughout europe against said you were never briefed on russian aggression. these reports and statements, that you did not to due and we heard, i
staff told me of events that occurred on july 26th. while ambassador volker and i visited the front, a member of my staff accompanied ambassador sondland. ambassador sondland met with mr. yerbak. following that meeting at a restaurant, ambassador sondland called president trump and told him of his meetings in kiev. the member of my staff could hear president trump on the phone asking ambassador sondland about the investigations. amino acid sondland told president trump the ukrainians were ready to move forward. following the call with president trump, the member of my staff asked ambassador sondland what president trump thought about ukraine. ambassador sondland responded that president trump cares more about the investigations of biden which giuliani was pressing for. at the time i gave my deposition on october 22nd, i was not aware of this information. i am including it here for completeness as the committee