US diplomat William Taylor willing to testify publicly: report

William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, would reportedly be willing to testify publicly, sources close to the matter told CNN.

The House is set to vote on a resolution formalizing impeachment inquiry procedures on Thursday. If the resolution passes, Taylor could possibly be one of the first witnesses House Democrats publicly interview.

{mosads}There hasn’t been a formal request from House Democrats for Taylor to testify, but many view Taylor as a logical first choice, the network reports. 

In his recent closed-door testimony to House investigators, Taylor gave a scrupulously documented account of how he believed that the withholding of promised aid to Ukraine by the White House was correlated to President Trump wanting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to publicly announce that he would investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

Taylor’s 15-page opening statement, part of the detailed documentation, contained some of the most damning evidence against the president to date, according to Democrats.

“Without question the most powerful testimony we’ve heard,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who sits on the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

“This testimony is a sea change. I think it could accelerate matters,” Lynch continued. “This will, I think, answer more questions than it raises.”