Foreign Affairs

Diplomacy on trial: Ambassador William Taylor

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April 01, 2020

Ambassador William Taylor

Hosted by Bill Antholis

On November 13, 2019, acting ambassador William Taylor publicly testified in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. He was called as one of the first witnesses by House Democrats because, as the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, he had a unique perspective. Ambassador Taylor testified about his role in both the official and unofficial negotiations with Ukraine over releasing military and diplomatic assistance to that country, in their ongoing conflict with Russia. During his vivid testimony, he stated that “withholding security assistance in exchange for help with a domestic political campaign in the United States would be crazy.”