Congressional candidate Robert Hyde denies stalking ex-US ambassador to Ukraine

A Connecticut congressional candidate embroiled in President Donald Trump's impeachment denied on social media that he stalked a former U.S. ambassador.

News 12 Staff

Jan 17, 2020, 10:42 PM

Updated 1,560 days ago

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Connecticut congressional candidate Robert Hyde claimed on social media Friday that the intelligence community "poisoned" him at one of President Donald Trump's properties.
The FBI is investigating Robert Hyde over texts he sent claiming to stalk Marie Yovanovich, the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. 
However, in the two long Facebook videos posted Friday, Robert Hyde insisted he never stalked Yovanovich.
Hyde said in the videos that the dozens of text messages, such as, “They are moving her tomorrow” and “She’s next to the embassy,” were simply a joke.
"I have no ties to Ukraine. I don't even know if Lev is Ukranian, but he's probably the only one I know,” said Hyde, referencing Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
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Hyde is one of the three Republicans hoping to unseat Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat. But now, even fellow conservatives say they want him out of the race.
"He has no support from Republican leaders or elected officials in the 41 towns in this congressional district,” said Republican congressional candidate David X. Sullivan.
Separately, prosecutors in Massachusetts say they want to send Hyde to jail for violating a protective order.
According to court records, Hyde contacted the victim in that case with a fake email account under the name "Barbara Johnson."
A few months earlier, Florida police detained Hyde at Trump's Miami resort after he accused "several painting workers ... of trying to do harm to him." He also said the Secret Service hacked into his computer.
Hyde took the accusations further in his videos posted on Friday.
"I believe people in the intelligence community has poisoned me. They tried to paint me as a schizophrenic.  I was 'Baker Act'-ed, taken off the Trump property. It's not true. I called the cops. Why? Because I felt my life was in danger,” said Hyde.

On News 12 Connecticut’s Power and Politics, Rep. Jim Himes said the FBI needs to investigate.

"He's got access to the president of the United States. He hangs out with Rudy Giuliani. Apparently, he spends a lot of time at the bar at the Trump Hotel, so this isn't just some guy standing on a street corner shouting things, right?  This guy has had access to a lot of very powerful people.  And so, yeah, we've got to know the facts," said Himes.
The FBI visited Hyde's home and office in Connecticut Thursday.
In Massachusetts, a judge will decide in March whether to send him to jail for allegedly violating that protective order.
Documents released Friday show text exchanges between Parnas, and Hyde that appear to show a third, unidentified individual was tracking the movements and activities of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.


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