SFRC Democrats Warn Trump Administration against Punishing State Department Officials Testifying in Impeachment Inquiry

Statement

With three senior State Department officials scheduled to testify during the first week of public hearings on the Trump-Ukraine scandal, Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today called on two top ranking officials in the Department to step up during the current leadership crisis at the agency, make statements of support for the personnel, and commit to no retaliation against the career public servants risking their careers and reputations due to the Trump-Ukraine scandal.

"We call on you to emphatically and unequivocally support and protect these employees to your fullest abilities, including by issuing statements of support and ensuring they are not subject to any act of reprisal," wrote the Senators in their letter to Deputy Secretary John Sullivan and Undersecretary Brian Bulatao. "We are writing you, and not Secretary Pompeo, because his silence to date speaks volumes. He has failed to stand up for his Department's own people, despite their steadfast service to our country, despite their dedication to public service without regard to party, president, or politics."

Led by Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), also requested they be provided an update within three business days of the steps being taken in support of Department personnel during the Trump-Ukraine scandal.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to hear public testimony from William Taylor, Chargé d'affaires at U.S. Embassy Kyiv, and George Kent, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, is scheduled to testify publicly on Friday.

"The Department has focused on preventing and dissuading its personnel from providing information and testimony to Congress. Many have decided, boldly, courageously, to stand up and testify nonetheless--at great personal, financial, and reputational expense. Each of the officials scheduled to testify are individuals who have served the nation with distinction," added the Senators. "They are putting their careers on the line, paying for their own attorneys, and being subjected to attacks--all to testify publicly on behalf of their country."

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