Trump's comments on the former ambassador of Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, raise other issues

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Yovanovich, a career member of the diplomatic service and having held ambassadorial posts under three presidents, was sworn ambassador to Ukraine in August 2016.

"It's so unprofessional for the President to do that." Throwing a US government employee under the bus, a man as distinguished as Ambassador Yovanovitch is, "the retired US Ambassador told CNN on Wednesday. , Nicholas Burns. Burns, who served in the US government for nearly three decades, said he had seen nothing like it.

"It hurts morale and we can imagine what people in their careers feel when they see one of our best people, Masha Yovanovich, treated as such," he said.

Those who worked with Yovanovich praised his experience and skills.

"Masha (Yovanovitch) knows this part of the world so well, speaks languages ​​and knows things cold," US retired ambassador James Melville told CNN on Wednesday. "They could not have had a better ambassador than Masha."

Burns described Yovanovich as "extremely effective", "highly ethical" and "a high level person".

He called the "upper levels of the state department" to "come and defend it".

"They should say that she was a good ambassador, she did what was required, she did what her constitutional duty had been to do: represent the United States competently and honestly," Burns said. . "She deserves an apology, a public apology."

"Political coup"

In May 2019, Yovanovitch was recalled to Washington, months earlier than planned. The State Department said at the time that Yovanovich was "finishing his three-year diplomatic mission as planned" and that his departure was in line with the presidential transition in Ukraine.

However, Democrats at the time accused the White House of carrying out a "political coup". On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called for an investigation into the timing of his departure. The presidents of the House's intelligence, control, foreign affairs and judiciary committees said in a press release on Wednesday: "The transcript also indicates that President Trump (…) has intervened directly to call his ambassador Ukraine".

Nevertheless, Yovanovich remained under fire from attacks and conservative figures. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted on March 24th, "We need more @ RichardGrenell and less of these pranks as ambassadors," with a link to a Conservative article "Daily Wire" on increasingly pressing calls for his ousting Giuliani said. without evidence repeatedly, Yovanovitch has prevented his investigation into Ukraine and linked this unfounded assertion to a conspiracy theory involving billionaire George Soros funding.

"We saw that the knives were out for Masha but it was still shocking that she was forced to leave her post just weeks before she left," Melville said. "It's just a sign of disrespect and almost contempt for career officers and diplomacy."

In May, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel called Yovanovich's dismissal "political work".

"It is clear that this decision was politically motivated, the allies of President Trump joined with foreign actors to lobby for the ambassador's dismissal," they said in a press release. A month earlier, they had privately sent a letter inviting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to publicly show his support for the ambassador.

CNN contacted Yovanovitch and the State Department for his comments.