Marie Yovanovitch Decries ‘Malicious Conspiracies’ Against Her: Trump Admin ‘Undermined Our Democratic Institutions’

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch claims she has “no regrets” for speaking out despite the “criticism, lies and malicious conspiracies” that have been raised against her throughout the Ukraine scandal.

Yovanovitch announced her retirement from the State Department last week after months of being a major figure in connection to President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Her connection from the scandal was especially noteworthy because of the smear campaign Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani advanced against her, the allegations that Trump’s allies tried to surveil her, and the controversial recordings of Trump demanding her ouster.

In a Washington Post op-ed, Yovanovitch reflected on her life as an envoy before speaking about the “resilient institutions” that governments and people must both protect to sustain a healthy democracy. She arrived on the Ukraine matter by saying that “when civil servants in the current administration saw senior officials taking actions they considered deeply wrong in regard to the nation of Ukraine, they refused to take part. When Congress asked us to testify about those activities, my colleagues and I did not hesitate, even in the face of administration efforts to silence us.”

She continued:

“We did this because it is the American way to speak up about wrongdoing. I have seen dictatorships around the world, where blind obedience is the norm and truth-tellers are threatened with punishment or death. We must not allow the United States to become a country where standing up to our government is a dangerous act. It has been shocking to experience the storm of criticism, lies and malicious conspiracies that have preceded and followed my public testimony, but I have no regrets. I did — we did — what our conscience called us to do. We did what the gift of U.S. citizenship requires us to do.”

Yovanovitch went on by calling for “responsible and ethical political leadership” and saying, “I had always thought that our institutions would forever protect us against individual transgressors. But it turns out that our institutions need us as much as we need them.”

“This administration,” she said, “through acts of omission and commission, has undermined our democratic institutions, making the public question the truth and leaving public servants without the support and example of ethical behavior that they need to do their jobs and advance U.S. interests. The next generation of diplomats is counting on something better.”

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