FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo Reuters

Democrats and legal experts say President Donald Trump’s attacks on Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, while she testified before Congress on Friday amounted to witness intimidation.

As Yovanovitch testified about what she called a „smear campaign“ that led to her abrupt ousting last May, Trump lobbed attacks at the 30-year veteran diplomat on Twitter.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, said he believed Trump was attempting to illegally intimidate Yovanovitch and other witnesses.

And legal experts told Insider that Trump’s attacks amounted to illegal witness intimidation and were evidence that the president thinks the former ambassador’s testimony is damaging.

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Democrats and legal experts said President Donald Trump’s attacks on Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, while she testified before Congress on Friday amounted to witness intimidation.

As Yovanovitch testified about what she called a „smear campaign“ that led to her abrupt ousting last May, Trump lobbed attacks at the 30-year veteran diplomat on Twitter.

„Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,“ Trump tweeted. „She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.“

Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, read the president’s tweet aloud at the hearing and asked Yovanovitch to respond to Trump’s claim that she made things worse in the war-torn countries she served in.

„I don’t think I have such powers — not in Mogadishu, Somalia, and not in other places,“ Yovanovitch replied. „I actually think that where I’ve served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better for the US as well as for the countries that I’ve served in.“

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Schiff asks Yovanovitch to respond to Trump’s tweet, posted during her hearing, claiming that everywhere she worked „turned bad“

Yovanovitch: „I don’t think I have such powers“ https://t.co/qNx16IztcL pic.twitter.com/xmAEkTJGpD

Schiff, a California Democrat, then said he believed Trump was attempting to illegally intimidate Yovanovitch and other witnesses.

„I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously,“ Schiff said.

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„It’s very intimidating.“ pic.twitter.com/YCPwO21dtS

Legal experts argued that Trump’s attacks amounted to illegal witness intimidation and were evidence that the president thinks the former ambassador’s testimony is damaging.

Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor, told Insider that Trump’s attacks were „exactly the type of action and words mobsters use to attack straight-arrow government witnesses, though mobsters didn’t use Twitter.“

He went on: „Such criminals use crude lies to attack the witness‘ competence and integrity. I’ve seen it many times over the years from professional criminals who lack any fact-based response to damning testimony.“

Jeffrey Cramer, a longtime former federal prosecutor, told Insider that Trump’s tweet „certainly was intended to intimidate future witnesses and/or her future willingness to talk on this subject.“

He argued that if these proceedings were being held in court, any federal judge would „lose their mind if a defendant threatened a witness in their courtroom.“

Cramer concluded: „This isn’t complicated. Ambassador Yovanovitch was in the way, so Rudy and the president professionally kneecapped her while Secretary Pompeo turned his back.“

Online critics condemned the president’s attack and argued that he was simply making matters worse for himself.

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And if I were the Republicans, desperately trying to save @realDonaldTrump from himself, I would organize a group, march over to the WH and seize his cell phone.

He is killing himself. And them. https://t.co/m3JuSxv8cR

Multiple members of Congress suggested on Friday that an attempt at witness intimidation by Trump could lead to an article of impeachment.

„Expect witness tampering to be an article of impeachment,“ Rep. Justin Amash, a Michigan independent who left the Republican Party earlier this year, tweeted in response to Trump’s attack.

„Trump himself is clearly not satisfied with only one article of impeachment,“ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. „His choice to publicly broadcast his own, personally authored witness intimidation means he’s wants to sign up for another article on obstruction of justice, too.“