Updated 1:29 p.m.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified for about five hours on Friday, telling investigators about her ouster in May at President Donald Trump’s direction and how she felt as she found out that he had criticized her in a July phone call with Ukraine’s president.
She also said it was “intimidating” as Trump went after her again on Twitter as she testified.
Trump said he wasn’t trying to intimidate a witness in the House impeachment inquiry with his tweet and he’s entitled to speak his mind as the investigation plays out.
During the first day of testimony, William Taylor, the top diplomat who replaced Yovanovitch in Ukraine, and another seasoned foreign service officer, George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of State, delivered somber accounts about recent months.
They testified in defense of Yovanavitch amid what Kent called Rudy Giuliani’s “smear” campaign against her; about the dangers of abandoning Ukraine as it faces Russia; and of what Taylor called an “irregular channel” of foreign policy orchestrated by the president’s lawyer and carried out by other Trump allies.
The House Intelligence Committee will hear from eight more impeachment witnesses next week.
Read More: Yovanovitch Says Trump Comments In July Call Felt Like A 'Threat'
