William Taylor - the 'time bomb' that will determine the fate of President D. Trump?

The whistleblower speaks out.

At a time when President Donald Trump is still struggling amidst a "surrounding enemy" situation, particularly the impeachment investigation launched by the Democrats accusing him of using his power for personal gain, things have taken a turn for the worse.

On October 22, William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, further intensified this investigation with detailed reports on how Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to discredit former Vice President Joe Biden – the Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential election – as well as withdrawing military aid to Ukraine to exert pressure.

William “Bill” Taylor, a diplomat who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, has “pulled the pin” on President Trump. Photo: UNIAN

In his 15-page opening report to the U.S. Congress, William Taylor, the U.S. Chargé d'affaires ad interim to Ukraine and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009, detailed the prolonged pressure that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faced after taking office.

According to Taylor, President Trump asked his counterpart Zelensky to "publicly declare" that Kyiv would investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, for corruption in Ukraine.

Taylor said that the US Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, revealed to him that "everything is conditional on such an announcement, including security assistance." In addition, according to Taylor, another "carrot" was offered: a summit meeting between Zelensky and Trump.

The Democratic Party emphasized that William Taylor's testimony before Congress was a strong confirmation of their allegations that President Trump abused his power to seek foreign aid to harm Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

The White House, however, has rejected what it calls a "coordinated smear campaign." A White House statement read: "Today's information is nothing more than rumors tripled and selectively leaked for political gain by the Democratic Party, from behind closed doors and secret hearings. Every day this nonsense continues, wasting taxpayers' time and money."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25 in New York. Photo: Reuters

Since the July phone call between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky was revealed by an anonymous source, American politics has become more precarious than ever. The controversial call took place after Trump decided to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine.

Democrats accuse Trump of using taxpayer money as leverage to achieve personal political goals and of exploiting foreign interference in the US election.

Following the leak of the phone call transcripts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated impeachment proceedings against the President. And with his latest revelation, William Taylor plays the role of a whistleblower for the Donald Trump administration, potentially causing serious trouble for the US President and threatening his dream of a second term.

In fact, the House Intelligence Committee had great difficulty organizing the hearing on Tuesday morning. They had to subpoena the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, while the State Department tried to prevent William Taylor from attending the hearing.

And the efforts of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives yielded results that could be a shock to American politics. William Taylor suddenly became a figure of public interest.

Republican lawmakers attempted to disrupt the Democratic presidential impeachment inquiry on October 23. Photo: Reuters

The worries of a veteran diplomat

Despite providing information damaging to President Donald Trump, William Taylor served under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from 2006 to 2009. Prior to that, he also held various positions in the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Middle East, advised the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and worked for the office of former Senator Bill Bradley.

Notably, diplomat William Taylor graduated from the West Point National Defence Academy and served in the Vietnam War as part of the 101st Airborne Division.

Throughout his career, William Taylor left government positions to serve as a senior advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He then returned to diplomatic work in Ukraine in June of this year, following the dismissal of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

And Yovanovitch herself confirmed to the U.S. Congress that her removal was part of a smear campaign orchestrated by Trump's allies. They portrayed her as disloyal for rejecting an attempt by President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden.

US Chargé d'affaires ad interim to Ukraine William Taylor leaves the House chamber after a hearing on October 22. Photo: AP

William Taylor's correspondence with U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland and former Ambassador Kurt Volker were both included as evidence in the impeachment inquiry against the U.S. President.

In particular, American diplomats have described how President Trump handed over the authority to implement foreign policy to lawyer Rudy Giuliani. They all felt uncomfortable with this arrangement and worried that Giuliani's past work experience could negatively impact America's diplomatic achievements.

Taylor had previously voiced these concerns in a letter in July, just before Trump's call with Zelensky. “Gordon, what Kurt and I discussed yesterday was Sasha Danyliuk’s view that President Zelensky is feeling insecure about Ukraine being so deeply involved, to put it mildly, that it has become a tool for internal American ‘fighting’ in order to advance the upcoming election. Danyliuk is a source close to Oleksandr Danyliuk, the former Ukrainian Finance Minister.”

Ambassador Sondland then responded: “Obviously, but we need to start discussions and build relationships, with whoever it may be. I am concerned about the negative developments that follow.”

William Taylor fears that the Trump administration will pressure Ukraine to the point where they reach this "quid pro quo," which would have significant political implications for the United States at this critical juncture.