The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

Bill Taylor, as the US chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, is in a difficult and delicate position testifying today, a source said.

Taylor's view is that he is there to speak to the committee and answer their questions, and he's not looking to issue his own statement publicly.

Other officials who have given testimony and also delivered opening statements were in different positions: Kurt Volker had already resigned and Gordon Sondland, a major Trump donor, was unlikely to be fired by Trump. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who testified earlier this month, is still a State Department employee but is not currently in an active ambassador role.

Taylor plans to return to Ukraine on Wednesday, the source said. He wants to keep his job, and thinks it is important work.

More about Taylor: A career diplomat, Taylor had to be convinced to take the Ukraine job in the first place, sources familiar with conversations explained. Volker, the former US special envoy for Ukraine, recommended Taylor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the post after Yovanovitch's unexpected removal in the spring. Taylor then met with Pompeo, State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl and Volker at the department at the end of May.

The conversation focused on US policy towards Ukraine and Pompeo's view of that policy. The secretary of state argued the Trump administration had a robust policy — a position he has taken in numerous interviews — and the elephant in the room — Yovanovitch's ouster — was not extensively addressed, the sources told CNN.

After the meeting, Taylor texted back and forth with Volker, and among other things he asked why Volker would not want to take the job. Volker said he was better off in his current role — covering Ukraine as well as Washington and allies and NATO. Taylor was on the ground in Ukraine, serving as de-facto ambassador, about a month later.

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