FILE – In this Jan. 30, 2010, file photo, former Vice President Joe Biden, left, with his son Hunter, right, at the Duke Georgetown NCAA college basketball game in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:27 PM PT — Friday, November 14, 2019
A top Ukrainian diplomat is saying U.S military aid was never tied to an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden’s corruption. On Thursday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said U.S. envoy to the EU Gordon Sondland never linked aid to probes into the Bidens.
The minister said the Bidens were mentioned during U.S.-Ukrainian talks, but emphasized there was no conditionality attached to the investigation.
On Wednesday, two witnesses in an open impeachment hearing claimed a ‘quid pro quo’ took place. Prior to that, witnesses in closed-door depositions made similar claims.
Colonel Alexander Vindman reportedly listened in on the July phone call between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart. The White House Ukraine expert told the House panel that the release of a military aid package to Ukraine was “contingent” on the Ukrainian government investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
“If Ukrainians took a partisan position, they would significantly undermine the possibility of future bipartisan support,” stated Vindman. “Losing bipartisan support, they would then lose access to potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance funds.”
Former National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman returns to the Capitol to review transcripts of his testimony in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The colonel went on to say that the call went well until a meeting between the two presidents was suggested. Former EU Ambassador Gordon Sondlond then “proceeded to discuss the deliverable required in order to get the meeting and alluded to investigations.”
“The Ukrainians saw this meeting as critically important in order to solidify the support for their most important international partner,” said Vindman. “When Ambassador Sondland started to speak about Ukraine delivering specific investigations in order to secure the meeting with the President, Ambassador Bolton cut the meeting short.”
Ukrainian lawmakers have said impeachment proceedings in the U.S. may hurt bilateral ties.
“Of course, I see the risk of losing bipartisan support,” stated MP Volodymyr Ariev. “But I suppose that American politicians are going to be more wise than some Ukrainian leaders or politicians.”
Ukrainian officials also said anticorruption probes into energy company Burisma never formally stopped and never had a connection to U.S. military aid.
