Despite Testimony, Emails Show Yovanovitch Communicated With Dem Staffer About 'Delicate' Issue After Complaint
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who is an important key witness in the the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against President Trump, apparently communicated through her personal email account with a Democratic congressional staffer concerning a “quite delicate” and “time-sensitive” matter two days after the whistleblower complaint that launched the inquiry was officially filed and a month before the complaint went public.
This information has come to light thanks to emails that were obtained by Fox News and discussed on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” a news program that aired Thursday evening.
Here are the details from Fox News:
The emails appear to contradict Yovanovitch’s deposition on Capitol Hill last month, in which she told U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., about an email she received Aug. 14 from the staffer, Laura Carey — but indicated under oath that she never responded to it.
The communication came “from the Foreign Affairs Committee,” and “they wanted me to come in and talk about, I guess, the circumstances of my departure” in May as ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch testified, describing Carey’s initial email. “I alerted the State Department, because I’m still an employee, and so, matters are generally handled through the State Department.”
Yovanovitch continued: “So, she emailed me. I alerted the State Department and, you know, asked them to handle the correspondence. And, she emailed me again and said, you know, ‘Who should I be in touch with?'”
Fox News is told it is a breach of normal procedure for congressional staff to reach out to a current State Department employee at their personal email address for official business.
Advertisement - story continues belowAsked directly whether she responded to Carey’s overtures, Yovanovitch testified only that someone in the “Legislative Affairs Office” at the State Department had responded to Carey, to the best of her knowledge.
Yovanovitch did not say whether or not she responded to the first email from Carey in any way, and went on to testify explicitly, that she didn’t reply to Carey’s follow-up email about whom she should get in touch with at the State Department.
But the emails obtained by Fox show something very different. According to the emails, Yovanovitch responded to Carey’s first email from August 14, replying that she “would love to reconnect and look forward to chatting with you.”
Carey then responded back by discussing the last time the two “crossed paths,” when Carey was detailed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She then noted that he had resigned from the State Department in order to join the House Foreign Affairs Committee staff.
“I’m writing to see if you would have time to meet up for a chat — in particular, I’m hoping to discuss some Ukraine-related oversight questions we are exploring,” Carey wrote. “I’d appreciate the chance to ground-truth a few pieces of information with you, some of which are quite delicate/time-sensitive and, thus, we want to make sure we get them right.”
Carey went on to say, “Could you let me know if you have any time this week or next to connect? Happy to come to a place of your choosing, or if easier, to speak by phone at either of the numbers below. I’m also around this weekend if meeting up over coffee works.”
The following day, August 15, Yovanovitch wrote back:
“Thanks for reaching out — and congratulations on your new job. I would love to reconnect and look forward to chatting with you. I have let EUR [Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs] know that you are interested in talking and they will be in touch with you shortly.”
Several days later on August 19, Carey responded with:
“Great — thanks for the response and I look forward to hearing from them. As mentioned, it would be ideal to connect this week… assuming this week is doable for you schedule-wise?”
It appears Ambassador Yovanovitch did not accurately answer this question I asked her during her “impeachment inquiry” deposition under oath. https://t.co/2Ju420Pkpb pic.twitter.com/WACsyksMzW
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) November 8, 2019
Zedlin spoke with Fox News and said the fact Yovanovitch might have “testified incorrectly” was “greatly concerning.”
“I would highly suspect that this Democratic staffer’s work was connected in some way to the whistleblower’s effort, which has evolved into this impeachment charade,” he said. “We do know that the whistleblower was in contact with [House Intelligence Committee Chairman] Adam Schiff’s team before the whistleblower had even hired an attorney or filed a whistleblower complaint even though Schiff had lied to the public originally claiming that there was no contact. Additionally, while the contents of the email from this staffer to Ambassador Yovanovitch clearly state what the conversation would be regarding, Yovanovitch, when I asked her specifically what the staffer was looking to speak about, did not provide these details.”
“I specifically asked her whether the Democratic staffer was responded to by Yovanovitch or the State Department. It is greatly concerning that Ambassador Yovanovitch didn’t answer my question as honestly as she should have, especially while under oath,” Zeldin said.
Fox News then reached out to Carey and to the State Department for a response about the emails, but neither one responded back at the time.
