Foreign Service Officers Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson appeared on the Hill today for their closed door depositions. The links to their Opening Statements are provided below.
Catherine M. Croft is a Foreign Service Officer with nine years in service. According to her Opening Statement, she started work on Ukraine in 2013, when she was posted to the U.S. Mission to NATO. After Russia invaded Crimea, she was assigned to NATO headquarters in Brussels. From August 2015 to July 2017, she served as one of several Ukraine Desk Officers in Foggy Bottom. In July 2017 she joined the National Security Council Staff at the White House as Director covering Ukraine. She left the NSC in July 2018 and started studying Arabic at the ForeignService Institute in preparation for a tour in Baghdad. But in May 2019, she was asked to take over as Ambassador Volker’s Advisor. She spent the month of June at the US Embassy Kyiv “to prepare and then spent the week of July 8 overlapping with” her predecessor, Christopher Anderson.
Christopher J. Anderson is a Foreign Service Officer with fourteen years of service. According to his Opening Statement, he has been in the Foreign Service since 2005. His work in Ukraine began with a three-week temporary duty to Kyiv in March 2014 “just after Russia invaded and occupied Crimea.” He returned to Kyiv in September 2014 to serve as the External Unit Chief in the Political Section of Embassy Kyiv. He served in Kyiv from 2014–2017 and “worked closely with Ambassador Yovanovitch from 2015–2017.” In August 2017 Ambassador Volker reportedly asked him to serve as Special Advisor for Ukraine Negotiations. He served in that position from late August 2017 until July 12, 2019. He was succeed on his job by Catherine Croft.
Here are links to the opening statements for today's impeachment witnesses, via @LACaldwellDC:
Catherine Croft, State Department special adviser for Ukraine: https://t.co/ChqlXwvaR3
Christopher Anderson, former special adviser to Ambassador Kurt Volker:https://t.co/QnlRh3kpKY
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) October 30, 2019
Catherine Croft, a foreign service officer, is testifying to impeachment investigators, and is expected to discuss efforts to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine. Follow our live briefing: https://t.co/sQUnhTCeou
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 30, 2019
Christopher ANDERSON has arrived for his impeachment deposition. pic.twitter.com/q0aQ2LLlr7
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 30, 2019
Diplomat Catherine Croft will reveal a new character in the shadow campaign against Yovanovitch, saying she received inexplicable phone calls from lobbyist Robert Livingston, “who told me that Ambassador Yovanovitch should be fired.” pic.twitter.com/83qBebDqiT
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 30, 2019
Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson, State Department officials who served as senior advisers on Ukraine, plan to describe to impeachment investigators the unusual intrusion into U.S. foreign policy by Trump-aligned consultants https://t.co/aMGfdEjnL4
— POLITICO (@politico) October 30, 2019