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Ukraine Investigates Trump Allies Amid Reports of Surveillance of Marie Yovanovitch

Newly released documents suggest that Ms. Yovanovitch was being watched in Kyiv while she was the American ambassador there.

www.nytimes.com

Ukraine has opened a criminal investigation into allies of President Trump, following reports that they had the United States ambassador under surveillance while she was stationed in Kyiv, the Ukrainian government said on Thursday.

The move was a remarkable departure from past practice for the new government of President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has tried hard to avoid any hint of partisanship in its dealings with Washington.

On Tuesday, just before Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate was scheduled to begin, Democrats in the House of Representatives published text messages to and from Lev Parnas — an associate of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer — pointing to surveillance of the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch.

Ukraine “cannot ignore such illegal activities” on its territory, the statement said, adding that the national police had started criminal proceedings after analyzing the new material.

Last March, an exchange between Mr. Parnas and another man, Robert F. Hyde, indicated that Mr. Hyde was in contact with people watching Ms. Yovanovitch.

“They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,” one message from Mr. Hyde read.

Ukraine said it had asked the F.B.I. for help investigating the reported penetration of computer systems belonging to Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, by hackers working for Russian intelligence. 

Trump’s War on the ‘Deep State’ Turns Against Him

The impeachment inquiry is in some ways the culmination of a battle between the president and the government institutions he distrusted and disparaged.

www.nytimes.com

Mr. Trump described his war with the deep state as fundamental to his presidency.

“If it all works out, I will consider it one of the greatest things I’ve done,” Mr. Trump said. “I think with the destruction of the deep state, certainly I’ve done big damage,” he added. “They’ve come after me in so many different ways; it’s been such a disgrace. But I think it’ll be one of my great achievements.”

But over the last three weeks, the deep state has emerged from the shadows in the form of real live government officials, past and present, who have defied a White House attempt to block cooperation with House impeachment investigators and provided evidence that largely backs up the still-anonymous whistle-blower.

The parade of witnesses marching to Capitol Hill culminated this week with the dramatic testimony of William B. Taylor Jr., a military officer and diplomat who has served his country for 50 years. Undaunted by White House pressure, he came forward to accuse the same president who sent him to Ukraine a few months ago of abusing his power to advance his own political interests.

“With all the denigration and disparagement and diminishment, I think you are seeing some payback here, not by design but by opportunity,” said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, a Democrat from Washington’s Virginia suburbs who represents many federal employees. 

The witnesses heading to Capitol Hill do not consider themselves part of any nefarious deep state, but simply public servants who have loyally worked for administrations of both parties only to be denigrated, sidelined or forced out of jobs by a president who marinates in suspicion and conspiracy theories.