‘Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow,’ president seems to say of ambassador to Ukraine

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Donald Trump demanded the dismissal of Marie Yovanovitch, then US ambassador to Ukraine and now a key figure in the president’s impeachment trial, according to a video recording released to the media.

The footage was reportedly taken during an April 2018 donor dinner at a hotel and released to news media by an attorney for Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman are key players in Trump’s alleged campaign to pressure the government of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, a potential election opponent for the president.

The issue is central to Trump’s ongoing impeachment trial in the US Senate.

The existence of the tape was first reported by ABC News on Friday.

Trump’s order to fire the ambassador came after Parnas told him that Yovanovitch was an impediment, and claimed that she had privately disparaged the president.

“Get rid of her!” Trump says on the tape, reportedly addressing a White House aide at the dining table.

“Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it.”

Q&A What is the Trump-Ukraine scandal at the heart of impeachment? Show Hide In a July 2019 phone call, Trump asked Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to mount an investigation of his potential rival for the White House in the 2020 election, Joe Biden, and son Hunter Biden – and also to investigate a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, instead of Russia, was behind foreign tampering in the 2016 election. Trump framed the requests as a “favor” after he reminded his counterpart that “the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine”. Overshadowing the conversation was the fact that Trump had recently suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid that Congress had approved for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia . News of the call emerged in a Washington Post report on 18 September that an internal whistleblower complaint, filed in August, involved “communications between Trump and a foreign leader”. Trump’s attempted dealings in Ukraine caused a scandal in US diplomatic ranks. The Democrats have obtained text messages between top US envoys in Ukraine establishing that diplomats told Zelenskiy that a White House visit to meet Trump was dependent on him making a public statement vowing to investigate Hunter Biden’s company. Trump does not dispute public accounts of what he said in the call, as established by the whistleblower’s complaint, released on 26 September, and a call summary released by the White House itself. But Trump and allies have argued that the conversation – “I’ve given you that, now I need this” – was not actually as transactional as it appears to be. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has pressured Ukraine to smear Biden, and the whistleblower said White House officials had caused records of Trump’s Ukraine call to be moved into a specially restricted computer system. The vice-president, Mike Pence, has acknowledged contacts with Ukrainian officials while claiming to have no knowledge of Trump’s Biden agenda.

On 3 October 2019, Trump even suggested that: “China should start an investigation into the Bidens.” Unlike when he was a candidate, Trump’s invitations for foreign powers to attack his domestic political opponents now have all the power of the White House behind them. Critics say this is a plain abuse of that power and it undermines US national security because it places Trump’s personal agenda first. The Trump administration also stands accused of obstruction of Congress for resisting congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the crisis. A lot of people – from the whistleblower, to career government officials swept up in the affair, to legal scholars, to Democrats and even some Republicans – believe it’s plausible that the president has committed an impeachable offense. Tom McCarthy in New York

Images taken at an awkward angle appear at the start of a video lasting an hour and 23 minutes. The rest of the recording shows a tan background, as if the camera were covered, but Trump’s distinctive voice is clear.

In a TV interview with MSNBC News last week, Parnas said Trump “knew exactly what was going on” with his and Fruman’s efforts to pressure Ukrainian authorities to investigate Biden.

His appearance came after Democrats released documents that showed Giuliani worked with Parnas to pressure Kyiv to investigate Biden.

Both Parnas and Fruman were charged with violating US campaign finance laws in October.

The documents also showed the pair, working with Ukrainian officials, trying to force out Yovanovitch, a respected career diplomat who Trump eventually removed in May 2019.

The recording released to the US media on Saturday corroborates much of what Parnas said in his TV interview, including that he knew Trump – something the president has denied.

Trump impeachment trial: the 10 things you need to know Read more

In November Yovanovitch testified to Congress that she was recalled due to “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives”.

Joseph Bondy, an attorney for Parnas, said he submitted the evidence to investigators in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

He also told CNN that Parnas had more recordings and photographs that might be released to the public.

The release of the tape increases the pressure on US senators to subpoena witnesses for the impeachment trial, a move several polls show has strong support among the US public.

White House lawyers began Trump’s defence in the impeachment trial on Saturday.

They have argued that the president did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine and that US voters – not Congress – should decide his fate.

Trump’s lawyers will resume his defence on Monday.