Article snippet: MORE’s side-channel foreign policy in Kyiv “knee-capped” U.S. anti-corruption efforts, deflated morale at the State Department and struck a blow to career diplomats fighting to advance U.S. policy around the globe. It was an extraordinary message coming from a 33-year veteran of the foreign service, who by all accounts had fought vigorously to promote anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, only to be removed prematurely last May in what she described as a political hit job by Trump and his allies. She was the third witness to appear publicly in the Democrats’ investigation into Trump’s handling of foreign policy in Ukraine, and the first who could testify about the personal toll of being on the wrong side of MORE, Trump’s personal lawyer, who was leading the White House campaign to have Ukrainian leaders find dirt on Trump’s political rivals at home. What emerged was a portrait of a shadow foreign policy that shunted the career of a top diplomat while putting Trump’s political interests — and Giuliani’s business pursuits — above national security concerns. Here are five takeaways from the roughly five-hour hearing. Democrats finish Week 1 of impeachment hearings on high note As Democrats opened their impeachment probe to the TV cameras for the first time this week, there were plenty of questions about how the witnesses — all of them little-known career diplomats — would perform under the intense media glare. No one’s asking those questions any more. Yovanovitch s... Link to the full article to read more