Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was recalled in the spring amid what she previously described as a "concerted campaign" against her, told lawmakers Friday she did not understand Rudy Giuliani's "motives for attacking me."

Yovanovitch's remarks were part of an opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, has been named by other witnesses in the inquiry as pressing for Yovanovitch's removal.

The veteran diplomat had testified in a closed hearing on Oct. 11 that she was told by colleagues that the State Department "had been under pressure from the President to remove me since the Summer of 2018."

Read her opening statement.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.