Former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch hailed the “ultimate sacrifice” of State Department officials during the Benghazi embassy attacks.
During her public impeachment testimony on Friday, Yovanovitch warned that the Trump administration and Congress had “hollowed out” the State Department by leaving posts unfilled and by criticizing acting members of the department.
“This is not a time to undercut our diplomats,” Yovanovitch said. “It is the responsibility of the department’s leaders to stand up for the institution and the individuals who make that institution still today the most effective diplomatic force in the world. And Congress has a responsibility to reinvest in our diplomacy.”
Yovanovitch highlighted the important role played by the foreign service. She pointed to several moments in U.S. history when diplomats were attacked, including the Iranian hostage crisis in Tehran.
“We are people who repeatedly uproot our lives, who risk and sometimes give our lives for this country,” Yovanovitch explained.
She added, “We are Ambassador Chris Stevens, Shaun Patrick Smith, Ty Woods, and Glenn Doherty. People rightly called heroes for their ultimate sacrifice to this nation’s foreign policy interests in Libya eight years ago. We honor these individuals.”
Stevens, Smith, Woods, and Doherty died when the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked. At the time, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed the attack was due to a controversial video, which turned out to be the case.
Yovanovitch was removed from her post as an ambassador by President Trump. She claimed in her closed-door testimony that she felt “threatened” by Trump and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
