I used to work with Bill Taylor — and I find the Republican smears on his character difficult to stomach

Ambassador William Brockenbrough Taylor Jr — or “just Bill”, as he was adamant about being called by fellow colleagues — was, up until recently, the Executive Vice President of the US Institute of Peace (USIP), where our paths crossed. In my brief time working at the Institute, it was immediately apparent to me that Taylor was a welcoming and supportive person.

Walking the corridors of the iconic USIP building opposite the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Taylor — should you cross his path — would stop you to say hi, check that you are well and remind you his support was available, regardless of your seniority (or lack thereof). It was a running joke among staff that Taylor, usually dressed without a tie and beaming a warm grin, would not buy food from the café unless he had greeted everyone in the canteen first.

Previously retired from the State Department, Taylor was cherry-picked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to be the acting ambassador to Ukraine in June this year. Given his 30 year-plus history dedicated to public service, including a previous stint as the ambassador to Ukraine, he seemed the ideal candidate for the recently vacated position.

At a crucial time in US-Ukrainian relations, however, Taylor was initially reluctant to take on the role. His wife advised him against accepting the position, considering the seemingly suspicious circumstances in which his predecessor, Marie Yovanovitch, was pushed out.

Fast-forward to 2019 and seeing Taylor under the spotlight of impeachment hearings is bizarre for me. Witnessing Trump loyalists attempt to smear his character is particularly absurd.

President Donald Trump dismissed Taylor as a “never-Trumper” — and he wasn’t the only one. This was alluded to in a now-viral Fox News screenshot of their coverage of yesterday’s hearing. Text superimposed over a still of Taylor, wearing a dark green tie and without his trademark warm grin, described how the White House labelled Taylor’s testimony as “triple hearsay” and continued: “GOP says Taylor had no first-hand knowledge about Ukraine aid.” The reality is that most people who worked with Taylor have nothing but positive things to say about him and his integrity.

I spoke to Sarah Reichenbauch, a former USIP colleague of mine and Bill Taylor’s, yesterday when he was appearing on screens across the country. “It’s so surreal seeing him all over the news,” she said. Reichenbauch describes her time spent working with Taylor as an “honor”.

“He is a man of integrity and compassion and a dedicated public servant,” she continued. “I am proud to know and to have learned from such a courageous and principled person and I am thankful for his service to his country.” Recalling Taylor’s caring nature, Michelle said, “He knew everyone’s names and would go out of his way to say hello and ask how you were doing. He always made our work feel appreciated.”

The assertions from Trump’s dedicated supporters that Taylor’s testimony is not to be trusted does not ring true for those who worked with Taylor. On condition of anonymity, another former colleague of Taylor described to me their time working for the veteran diplomat, saying, “Ambassador Taylor is not only one of the most honorable and principled people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with but he’s kind and takes a genuine interest in the well-being of others.”

Understandably, given Trump’s erratic firing record, many past and present colleagues of Taylor — be they from his time at USIP or at State Department — refused to even anonymously provide statements in Taylor’s defense when I called them this week. The First Amendment right to freedom of speech has never been more strained than now. After Trump’s repeated attempts to cut funding from USIP, it is understandable that the institution has remained quiet. Some of his military colleagues from his earlier career have gone on record, however: three veterans described him to CNN as a “man of honor”, a “public servant” and a “role model”.

Throughout yesterday’s exhaustive five-hour hearing, Republican lawmakers repeatedly interrogated Taylor, suggesting he had “precisely zero evidence” — but he remained unflappable; so unflappable, in fact, that he was meme-ified across the internet.

As a former colleague of Taylor, I don’t find it surprising that he has been able to successfully maneuver through GOP lines of questioning, and I don’t find it surprising that he spoke out when faced with injustice. It is refreshing to see the public has recognized this, despite Republican attempts to smear the diplomat I know to have integrity.