NO ONE LEFT TO DEFEND HIS ACTIONS:

Yovanovitch testified behind closed doors Friday for more than nine hours as part of the House Democrats' impeachment investigation. Her prepared remarks were obtained by The Associated Press. She left without answering questions.

New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat, said Yovanovitch occasionally had to leave the room because she was overcome with emotion as she was "recounting how she was thrown to the wolves" in Ukraine.

"It is clear to me that she was fired because she was a thorn in the side of those who sought to use the Ukrainian government for their own political and financial gain - and that includes President Trump," Maloney said.

Lawmakers leaving the meeting would not provide specifics from the confidential deposition. But they indicated that Yovanovitch was providing information that would help with the impeachment inquiry.

"It was compelling, it was impactful, it was powerful and I just feel grateful for the opportunity to have received that information," said Democratic Rep. Denny Heck, who flew in from Washington state for the interview. He said the eight hours he was there "went like a New York second."

Yovanovitch "set a very powerful, courageous example," said Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey.

Republicans leaving the meeting focused their criticism on Democrats, arguing that the president's lawyers should be able to attend the hearings and cross-examine witnesses.

She said that the pressure to have her removed as ambassador came directly from the president:

I met with the Deputy Secretary of State, who informed me of the curtailment of my term. He said that the President had lost confidence in me and no longer wished me to serve as his ambassador. He added that there had been a concerted campaign against me, and that the Department had been under pressure from the President to remove me since the Summer of 2018. He also said that I had done nothing wrong and that this was not like other situations where he had recalled ambassadors for cause.

Although Yovanovitch was fired from her post as ambassador to Ukraine, she has continued to work in the U.S. State Department and risked her job by testifying on Friday. Regardless, Yovanovitch spoke her mind, and she stressed that hurting loyal diplomats only encourages "bad actors" and enemies of U.S. interests who will "see how easy it is to use fiction and innuendo to manipulate our system."

Tweet   @brothersjudd