This article was republished here with permission from The Associated Press , however it is no longer available to read on Snopes.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has been deeply shaken by the rapidly escalating impeachment inquiry, as revelations that President Donald Trump enlisted diplomats to dig up dirt on a political rival threaten to tarnish its reputation as a nonpartisan arm of U.S. foreign policy, former senior officials say. A department where morale was already low under a president who, at times, has seemed hostile to its mission is now reeling from days of disclosures… Read at AP News