World

Trump says envoy Marie Yovanovitch refused to hang his photo

November 23, 2019 4:15 am

President Donald Trump has pilloried an envoy who testified in the impeachment inquiry, claiming she refused to hang his photo in the US embassy in Ukraine.

Mr Trump told Fox News’ morning show former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch “didn’t want to hang my picture in the embassy” in Kyiv.

The president did not offer further details about the matter.

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Ms Yovanovitch testified last week that she was fired over “false claims” by people with “questionable motives”.

She was one of 12 witnesses to testify over the last fortnight in the impeachment inquiry, which may seek to remove the president from office for alleged corruption.

In a phone call to Fox and Friends on Friday morning, Mr Trump said he had heard “bad things” about Ms Yovanovitch.

“This ambassador, who everybody says was so wonderful,” Mr Trump said, “she wouldn’t hang my picture in the embassy.

“She’s in charge of the embassy, it took, like, a year and a half, two years.”

Mr Trump added: “She said bad things about me, she wouldn’t defend me, and I have the right to change the ambassador.

“The standard is you put the president of the United States’ picture in the embassy,” he continued. “This was not an angel, this woman, OK?”

It was not the first time the president has attacked Ms Yovanovitch.

The Republican president lambasted her in a tweet while she was testifying last Friday – a move that Democrats argued amounted to witness intimidation.

Ms Yovanovitch was fired as the American ambassador to Kyiv in May.

Her recall happened two months before a phone conversation between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.

A rough transcript of July’s call revealed that Mr Trump urged President Zelensky to investigate unsubstantiated allegations against Democratic White House contender Joe Biden and claims of 2016 election meddling.

Mr Trump’s critics say this alleged political pressure on a vulnerable US ally amounted to abuse of power.