Trump’s Ukraine scandal: All the key players

CNN — The fast-moving scandal involving President Donald Trump and allegations that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, has upended politics in Washington, DC, and evolved into a full-blown impeachment investigation. The whistleblower An anonymous government worker - with access to White House officials - who filed an official complaint against the President claiming that multiple officials had concerns that Trump was using his public office to seek personal political gain from a foreign power not just through his July 25 phone conversation with Zelensky but through emissaries including Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as well as, possibly, Attorney General Bill Barr. Rudy Giuliani, Trump attorney Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/Getty Images The former New York mayor, now the President’s personal attorney and staunch defender on cable news, is at the center of the Ukraine scandal. A career member of the foreign service who has served in ambassadorships under three presidents, she was sworn in as ambassador to Ukraine in August 2016 and recalled in May 2019, prompting Democrats to accuse the White House of a “political hit job.” In the phone call with Zelensky, Trump disparaged her, calling her “bad news” and saying, “she’s going to go through some things.” In damning testimony on Capitol Hill, Yovanovitch said it was her understanding she was targeted by Giuliani and she issued a dire warning about diplomacy during the Trump administration. David Holmes, official in US embassy in Ukraine Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images A career foreign service officer and top official at the US embassy, Holmes testified he overheard Sondland discuss investigations in a loud phone conversation with Trump the day after Trump and Zelensky’s phone call and while Sondland was in a restaurant in Kiev.