WASHINGTON – P. Michael McKinley, former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to testify before the House Democrats' impeachment panel.
McKinley resigned from his post just last week, after a career that spanned decades and included posts as U.S. ambassador to Brazil and Afghanistan.
The timing of McKinley's departure raised questions about Pompeo's role in the Ukraine controversy, particularly his refusal to stand up for career diplomats who felt sidelined and smeared by Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer.
Giuliani targeted the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, as he pressed the Ukrainian government to launch politically tinged investigations that could have helped Trump's re-election campaign. Trump yanked Yovanovitch from the ambassador's job before her tenure was up, and critics have blamed Pompeo for not defending her.
The Washington Post reported that McKinley's resignation came amid low morale within the State Department and concerns that Pompeo was not supporting those wrapped up in the controversy over Ukraine, allegations Pompeo denied in an interview last week with The Tennessean.
"I protect every single State Department employee," Pompeo said. "It’s one of the reasons that we asked the House of Representatives to stop their abusive prosecutions where they won’t let State Department lawyers sit with our employees. That’s not fair."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Impeachment: Ex-Pompeo aide arrives on Capitol Hill to testify in Ukraine probe