Not What They Expected

Historic scene. After hearing concludes, the room erupts in applause for Ambassador Yovanovich’s courage as Republicans complain. pic.twitter.com/tYxTvb92RY

— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) November 15, 2019

I am pretty sure that the GOP House members did not expect this applause for Marie Yovanovitch because they are too deep in their defense of Trump and demonization of the "Deep State" to realize that what they are calling the Deep State is just career people with a deep sense of mission to serve the United States. This came through in her testimony.

I think an important takeaway though, is this:

“We see the potential in Ukraine. Russia, by contrast, sees the risk,” she said. “Ukraine is a battleground for great power competition, with a hot war for the control of territory and a hybrid war to control Ukraine’s leadership.”

The potential benefit to Russia is two-fold, she explained. Withholding security assistance, she said, painted a picture to Moscow that the U.S. may not be the staunch ally of Russia’s vulnerable neighbor it has signaled it would be. And at the same time, she said, allowing corruption to fester in Ukraine — including empowering officials there to get the White House to remove an ambassador (as happened with her) — also makes the nation vulnerable to Russian influence.

“Corruption is also a security issue, because corrupt officials are vulnerable to Moscow. In short, it is in America’s national security interest to help Ukraine transform into a country where the rule of law governs and corruption is held in check,” she said, before directly fingering Vladimir Putin as a beneficiary of the administration’s actions in Ukraine.

Whether wittingly or unwittingly, the kind of adventurism Sondland, Giuliani, etc. have participated in are contrary to what should be US interests, and serve private interests, whether Trump's (in getting election assistance) or anyone else's (using the US State Department to finagle things for Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs over the expressed anti-corruption goals of our country and Ukraine's new government). The simple "text" or the scandal is bribery and extortion. The subtext is whether these people, acting corruptly, are even trying to pursue legitimate goals.

The former Ambassador was fired, it appears, because she was doing her job too well for the liking of some people. Trump and Pompeo are doing their jobs too poorly for mine.