William Taylor - the 'key' to President D. Trump's fate?

The whistleblower speaks out

At a time when President Donald Trump is still struggling with enemies on all sides, especially the impeachment investigation by the Democrats, accusing the White House owner of using power for personal gain, things continue to get worse.

On October 22, William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, heated up the investigation with detailed reports on how Mr. Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to discredit former Vice President Joe Biden - the Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential election campaign, as well as withholding military aid to Ukraine to exert pressure.

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

In a 15-page opening statement read to the US Congress, William Taylor, the US Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine and former US Ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009, detailed how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been under sustained pressure since taking office.

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

Mr Taylor said that US Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Gordon Sondland had told him that "everything was conditioned on such an announcement, including security assistance". In addition, according to Mr Taylor, there was another "carrot" offered, which was a summit between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump.

Democrats stressed that William Taylor's testimony to Congress was a strong confirmation of the party's allegations that President Trump abused his power to seek foreign help to harm Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

The White House has dismissed what it calls a "coordinated smear campaign." "Today's reports are nothing more than rumors that have been amplified threefold and selectively leaked by Democrats, behind closed doors and in secret hearings, in a politically motivated manner," the White House said in a statement. "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, US politics has been more precarious than ever. The controversial call was made after Mr. Trump decided to "freeze" nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine.

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

After the phone call was leaked, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated impeachment proceedings against the President. And with his latest revelation, William Taylor played the role of “whistleblower” to the Donald Trump administration, which could cause the US President to suffer and threaten his dream of a “second term” in the White House.

In fact, the House Intelligence Committee had a hard time holding a hearing on Tuesday morning. They issued a subpoena to the US charge d’affaires in Ukraine, amid efforts by the State Department to block William Taylor from attending.

And the efforts of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives have brought results, possibly a shock to American politics. William Taylor suddenly became a public figure of interest at this time.

Republican lawmakers attempt to disrupt the Democratic impeachment inquiry into the president on October 23. Photo: Reuters

The worries of a veteran diplomat

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

He served as US 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 US Diplomatic Mission in the Middle East, served as an advisor to the US Ambassador to NATO, and worked for the office of former Senator Bill Bradley.

Notably, diplomat William Taylor graduated from the National Defense Academy at West Point and served in the Vietnam War with the 101st Airborne Division.

During his career, William Taylor left government jobs to serve as a senior adviser at the US Institute of Peace. He returned to diplomatic work in Ukraine in June, after Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was removed.

And Ms. Yovanovitch herself confirmed to the US Congress that her removal was part of a smear campaign by Mr. Trump’s allies, who portrayed her as disloyal for rejecting efforts by President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden.

US Charge d'Affaires to Ukraine William Taylor leaves the US House of Representatives meeting room after a hearing on October 22. Photo: AP

William Taylor's text exchanges with US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland and former ambassador Kurt Volker were both entered into evidence in the impeachment inquiry into the US President.

In it, the US diplomat described that President Trump had handed over foreign policy authority to lawyer Rudy Giuliani. They all felt uncomfortable with this arrangement and worried that Giuliani's past work could negatively affect US diplomatic achievements.

Taylor had already made these concerns public in a July correspondence, shortly before Trump called Zelensky. “Gordon, what Kurt and I discussed yesterday was Sasha Danyliuk’s view that President Zelensky is uneasy about Ukraine being so deeply involved, so to speak, being used as a tool for internal U.S. “warfare,” in an effort to influence 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 talking and building relationships, with whoever it is. I am concerned about the negative developments that follow.”

William Taylor is concerned that the Trump administration will push Ukraine to the point where they will achieve this “quid pro quo,” which will impact American politics at this crucial time.