The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William B. Taylor Jr., testified to Congress behind closed doors on Tuesday alleging that there had been a “push” to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “publicly commit to investigations of Burisma and alleged interference in the 2016 election,” according to a transcript of Taylor’s opening statement.

On Wednesday, Republicans demanded entry into the closed door hearings.

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Taylor, the charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, said in his opening statement that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union and an employee of the State Department, told him that “everything,” including security assistance to Ukraine, was dependent on a public announcement from Zelensky.

“Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelensky to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. election,” Taylor said in his testimony, about a Sept. 1 phone call between himself and Sondland.

Taylor later said: “He [Sondland] said that President Trump wanted President Zelensky ‘in a public box’ by making a public statement about ordering such investigations.”

Earlier, it was expected that Taylor would face questions from House committees leading the impeachment inquiry about a text message where he had called the United States’ withholding of aid to Ukraine “crazy.”

“As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” Taylor wrote in a text message on Sept. 9 to Sondland and Kurt Volker, the State Department’s then-special envoy to Ukraine.

In Taylor’s testimony, he noted that Sondland responded about five hours later saying that Taylor was “incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The president has been crystal clear no quid pro quos of any kind.”

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Article by Mimi Nguyenly)