So the issue as I understood it was this deep-rooted, skeptical view of Ukraine, a negative view of Ukraine, preexisting 2019, you know, going back. When I started this, I had one other meeting with President Trump and [then-Ukrainian] President Poroshenko. It was in September of 2017. And at that time he had a very skeptical view of Ukraine. So I know he had a very deep-rooted skeptical view. And my understanding at the time was that even though he agreed in the [May23] meeting that we had with him, say, okay, I'll invite him, he didn't really want to do it. And that's why the meeting kept being delayed and delayed.[1]
Other testimony confirms Ambassador Volker's statements. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch confirmed the President's skepticism, saying that she observed it during President Trump's meeting with President Poroshenko in September 2017.[2] She testified:
Q. Were you aware of the President's deep-rooted skepticism about Ukraine's business environment?
A. Yes.
Q. And what did you know about that?
A. That he—I mean, he shared that concern directly with President Poroshenko in their first meeting in the Oval Office.[3]
Dr. Fiona Hill, NSC Senior Director for Europe, also testified that President Trump was "quite publicly" skeptical of Ukraine and that "everyone has expressed great concerns about corruption in Ukraine."[4] Catherine Croft, a former NSC director, similarly attested to President's Trump skepticism when she staffed President Trump for two Ukraine matters in 2017, explaining: "Throughout both, I heard, directly and indirectly, President Trump described Ukraine as a corrupt country."[5]
3. Senior Ukrainian government officials publicly attacked President Trumpduring the 2016 campaign.
President Trump's skepticism about Ukraine was compounded by statements made by senior Ukrainian government officials in 2016 that were critical of then-candidate Trump and supportive of his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Although Democrats have attempted to discredit these assertions as "debunked," the statements by Ukrainian leaders speak
17
