Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch Marie YovanovitchGrand jury adds additional counts against Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and and Igor Fruman Strzok: Trump behaving like an authoritarian Powell backs Biden at convention as Democrats rip Trump on security MORE testified on Friday that she believes Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE and associates of the president's personal attorney pushed for her ouster earlier this year, calling it a "smear campaign."

She argued during the second public hearing of the House impeachment inquiry that the system was successfully manipulated to push for her removal.

"Unfortunately, as the past couple of months have underlined, not all Ukrainians embraced our anti-corruption work," she said, referring to her time as ambassador.

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"What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them and, working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a U.S. ambassador. How could our system fail like this? How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?" she said.

Read Yovanovitch's full opening statement below.