Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, testified during the public impeachment hearing of US President Donald Trump and discussed her time in Ukraine.
"Shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want," Sputnik quoted her as saying in her opening remarks.
"I remain disappointed that the Department's leadership and others have declined to acknowledge that the attacks against me and others are dangerously wrong,'' she said.
The US President took to Twitter slamming her and said that everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad.
"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President's absolute right to appoint ambassadors," Trump tweeted.
"....They call it "serving at the pleasure of the President." The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O," he said in another tweet.
The Hill reported that the President defended his tweet attacking the former US ambassador to Ukraine in the middle of her public testimony in the House impeachment hearing.
"I have the right to speak. I have freedom of speech just like other people do," the President was quoted as saying.
The outlet in its report said that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) interrupted questioning from his staff counsel to read the President's tweet aloud to Yovanovitch.
"I don't think I have such powers," Yovanovitch said. When Schiff asked her about its effects would be on witnesses willing to come forward and expose wrongdoing, she said it is very intmidating.
( With inputs from ANI )