Marie Yovanovitch, Former U.S. Envoy To Ukraine, Signs Book Deal

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch (file photo)

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who played a key role in the House of Representatives hearings on the impeachment of President Donald Trump last November, has signed a deal to write a book about her career.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt told the AP news agency on February 21 that it had struck a deal with Yovanovitch to publish her planned memoir.

The book, currently untitled, will focus on her long diplomatic career, in which she served in places such as Kyiv and Mogadishu, Somalia. It is expected to be published in early 2021.

Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled from Kyiv in May 2019 following an intense campaign to oust her that was coordinated by Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

After her recall following a 33-year career in the foreign service, Yovanovitch retired from the State Department in January.

In November 2018, Yovanovitch testified before the House impeachment inquiry into Trump's actions with Ukraine, accusing Giuliani of organizing an "irregular channel" of diplomacy in Ukraine that was aimed, in part, at promoting Trump's domestic political interests.

"Shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want," the 61-year-old Yovanovitch told the inquiry.

Trump denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted in a historic Senate impeachment trial.

Yovanovitch was appointed U.S. ambassador to Kyiv in 2016 by President Barack Obama.

Based on reporting by AP