On Wednesday, during a speech at Georgetown University, ex-Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch warned that "the State Department is in trouble."
Among the problems, she noted, were decisions being made at the top level, over the expert opinions of diplomats on the ground, and a culture in which people are afraid to challenge the politically motivated decisions being made over their better judgment. Yovanovitch called on diplomats to stand up for themselves.
"We need to re-empower our diplomats to do their job," said Yovanovitch. "We can't be afraid to share our expertise or challenge false assumptions. Working off of facts is not the trademark of the deep state but of the deeply committed state in the words of [former Russia] Ambassador [Michael] McFaul. Truth matters."
Yovanovitch was a key target of President Donald Trump's scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government to deliver political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden. As she pushed back on the Trump team's conspiracy theories about Ukraine, associates of the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani set a tail on her, according to private messages, and she was ultimately recalled from the ambassadorship.
Watch the video of Yovanovitch's speech below: