impeachment hearings bill taylor Associated Press/Alex Brandon

A key witness who testified during Wednesday’s public impeachment hearing said he had never before seen a US president use foreign aid as leverage for personal or political gain.

Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified about allegations that the Trump administration dangled military aid to Ukraine and pressured its government to investigate Trump’s 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden.

In a powerful exchange with Daniel Goldman, the Democrats‘ staff lawyer, Taylor indicated that the move was unprecedented.

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One of the most important witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings said on Wednesday that he had never before seen a US president use foreign aid as leverage for personal or political gain.

The first public impeachment hearing opened Wednesday morning and featured testimony from Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

Daniel Goldman, the Democrats‘ investigations chief, questioned Taylor on his testimony that the Trump administration dangled US military aid and a potential White House visit in exchange for the Ukrainian government’s promise to investigate the family of former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

In a powerful exchange with Goldman, Taylor indicated that the move was unprecedented.

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Dan Goldman: „Have you ever seen another example of foreign aid conditioned on the personal or political interests of the president of the United States?“

Bill Taylor: „No, Mr. Goldman, I have not.“ https://t.co/O6ybmtHEg0 pic.twitter.com/PcVEimNdtP

„Ambassador Taylor, in your decades of military service and diplomatic service representing the United States around the world, have you ever seen another example of foreign aid conditioned on the personal or political interests of the president of the United States?“ Goldman asked.

„No, Mr. Goldman, I have not,“ Taylor replied.

Taylor said he believed that Trump felt that the Ukrainians „owed“ him these investigations into the Bidens. He also said that withholding military aid „for no good reason“ was nonsensical.

„It was counterproductive to all of what we had been trying to do,“ Taylor said. „It was illogical. It could not be explained.“