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It was a decision the longtime diplomat did not take lightly, sources said, and one that may have been taken out of a sense of duty after the politically motivated removal of the previous ambassador to Ukraine.
“He’s somebody who’s been willing to take hard jobs,” retired Ambassador Ronald Neumann told CNN.
Taylor is expected to be deposed by the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees on Tuesday. It is unclear whether he will be permitted by the State Department to testify, or whether he will be subpoenaed. The State Department has not replied to requests for comment on Taylor’s testimony. Taylor also did not reply to requests for comment.
Taylor called Ukraine aid freeze ‘crazy’
In the exchanges, Taylor expressed his concerns about foreign policy moves being tied to political motives, writing, “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
It was Volker who recommended Taylor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the post after Yovanovitch’s unexpected removal, according to two sources. Taylor had previously served as the US ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009, but at the time he was asked to take over at the embassy, he had retired from the Foreign Service and was serving as executive vice president at the US Institute of Peace.
“He was appalled, as we all were, when Marie Yovanovitch was removed prematurely,” a retired US ambassador told CNN.
The two sources said that Taylor needed some convincing to take on the job. He met with Pompeo, State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl and Volker at the department at the end of May. The conversation focused on US policy towards Ukraine and Pompeo’s view of that policy. The secretary of state argued the Trump administration had a robust policy — a position he has taken in numerous interviews — and the the elephant in the room — Yovanovitch’s ouster — was not extensively addressed, the sources told CNN.
After the meeting Taylor texted back and forth with Volker, and among other things he asked why Volker would not want to take the job. Volker said he was better off in his current role — covering Ukraine as well as Washington and allies and NATO. Taylor was on the ground in Ukraine, serving as de-facto ambassador, about a month later.
Almost a dozen former State Department officials who spoke to CNN about Taylor described him as a person of high character and professionalism — a “very quiet guy,” in the words of retired Ambassador Neumann — who is deeply respected in the diplomatic world and seen as more likely to put sound foreign policy before politics.
Many of the former officials told CNN they were unsurprised that he was chosen for the embassy job and said State Department officials who work on Ukraine were pleased with the choice.
“It certainly provided a morale boost to the embassy when he arrived,” another former State Department official said, noting that the embassy had been “pretty battered” by the false allegations against Yovanovitch.
One former senior State Department official said it was “a little unusual” that Taylor was called out of retirement, noting that it requires decisions and special dispensations involving pensions and pay.
“It’s not an easy thing to do,” that official said.
Taylor did not need to return
Others noted that Taylor did not need to return, but did so out of a sense of diplomatic obligation.
A source familiar with his career said Taylor took the job to be a good soldier. The former senior State Department official described Taylor as having “a remarkable legacy of service.”
Many of the officials who spoke with CNN said they were unsurprised to see Taylor express misgivings about what was happening with US security assistance to Ukraine.
“I was not at all surprised when I saw Bill raising concerns in those text messages. My guess is this was just the tip of the iceberg,” retired Ambassador Nancy McEldowney told CNN.
The source familiar with Taylor’s career said he appeared to be doing what a professional in these circumstances would do: keeping a record of what was going on.
“He is very skilled and has many years of experience dealing with the bureaucracy. You can see in the language of the texts that he is memorializing phone calls — ‘As I told you on the phone … ,’ ” this source said.
“When I look at those text messages, he’s the one asking the exact right questions, questioning the appropriateness of the whole thing,” a former State Department official said.
McEldowney described Taylor as “someone of extreme integrity and a very solid set of principles” — a sentiment shared by the former officials who spoke to CNN.
Taylor is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and a Vietnam War veteran. In addition to his diplomatic service in Ukraine, he oversaw assistance and support to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria at the State Department during the Arab Spring, “served in Jerusalem as the U.S. Government’s representative to the Mideast Quartet,” “oversaw reconstruction in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and served in Kabul as coordinator of international and U.S. assistance to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003,” according to his State Department biography.
CNN’s Nicole Gaouette, Zachary Cohen, Jeremy Herb and Jamie Gangel contributed to this piece.
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