Trump impeachment inquiry hearings
- by Rosa Rice
- in World
- — Nov 20, 2019
"It appears in the description of Vice President [Joe] Biden's alleged conduct", he said.
Jennifer Williams, a foreign service aide detailed to Vice President Pence's office who listened in on the July 25 call between Trump and Zelenskiy.
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At the inquiry's core is a July 25 telephone call in which Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son, a member of the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm, and a discredited theory that it was Ukraine - not Russian Federation as determined by US intelligence agencies - that interfered in the 2016 USA election. He said there is proof that Trump may have given untruthful responses. "President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there".
Vindman says that in the military, when someone senior "asks you to do something, even if it's polite and pleasant, it's not to be taken as a request".
Gordon Sondland, the USA ambassador to the European Union, was scheduled to answer questions on November 20, followed by Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary at the Defense Department, and David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs at the State Department. He said one was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, and identified the other as a member of the intelligence community.
Vindman said he does not know who the whistleblower is. "So then how would he know Nunes is asking about the whistleblower?".
Trump also suggested that "Do Nothing" Pelosi has stalled on legislation opportunities in favor of impeachment, a move that Pelosi contended in her interview. He said that due to scheduling uncertainties, the trip was "kept off the record".
Testimony last week revealed that at least three people overheard a July phone call in which Trump and Sondland discussed efforts to push for the investigations.
David Holmes, a career diplomat and the political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, arrives on Capitol Hill, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, in Washington, to testify before congressional lawmakers as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
In a pair of tweets, Trump said he will "strongly consider" an offer by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to testify before the House impeachment panel.
At 2:30 p.m. ET, the committee is scheduled to start its second hearing with Morrison and Volker - though that is contingent on the first hearing wrapping up on time.
He said the House impeachment inquiry is proceeding on two tracks: the "Ukraine matter" as well as "the Mueller report's discussion: Did the president carry out obstruction of justice and related bad acts?"
"I absolutely believe this is witness intimidation", Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told CNN on Monday.
In the afternoon Kurt Volker, the former special United States envoy to Ukraine, and National Security Council official Timothy Morrison will testify. Volker, who worked with the President's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to help the Ukrainians draft a statement on investigations, testified that he did not know about a quid pro quo connecting U.S. security aid to investigations into the President's political opponents.
Vindman said he heard envoy Gordon Sondland describe "specific investigations" as a requirement for Ukraine's president to get a coveted White House visit. She also implicitly criticized Vindman and Williams for sharing their "personal opinions and conjecture about a call the White House long ago released to the public".
