During a segment on MSNBC this Wednesday, host Chris Jansing started out by recounting top US diplomat Bill Taylor's biography, which includes being a "West Point graduate, Vietnam veteran ... non-partisan diplomat..."
"This is going to be a very interesting set of testimony to watch," Jansing said. "Because if the Republicans decide that the way to go after him is to somehow discredit his testimony, I say, good luck with that."
American foreign policy strategist Nancy Soderberg agreed, saying that the President and his supporters are "trying to deflect, impugn the reputation of highly respectable career foreign service military officers who are serving their oath of office to uphold the Constitution and frankly telling the truth."
Jansing then turned to White House reporter Jonathan Lemire and mentioned the "copious notes" Taylor kept.
"Ambassador Taylor has alway loomed large as a witness here who could potentially be very damaging to the President," Lemire replied. "He also, let's remember, can't be painted as a never-Trumper or a Deep State operative. He was asked by Secretary of State Pompeo to almost come out of retirement to take this job, this top envoy job to the Ukraine."
"He convinced himself that his duty to country superseded his reservations, and he took this job," he continued, adding that Taylor's testimony "put a real human face on this."
"He described vividly being in Ukraine and being on a bridge, across the bridge where [there were] Russian-backed militia forces, and he suggested that these are people -- Ukrainian lives would be in danger if the military aid did not go through to Ukraine."
Watch the full segment below:
