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Here's everyone testifying in the public hearings on the possible impeachment of Donald Trump
Here's everyone testifying in the public hearings on the possible impeachment of Donald Trump
Kelly McLaughlinNov 19, 2019, 19:29 IST
FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2019, file photo, Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a military officer at the National Security Council, center, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington. Vindman is set to deliver public testimony about President Donald Trump's alleged attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival. Democrats and Republicans are expected to press contrasting narratives about the 20-year Army veteran's decision to come forward to allege abuse of power by his commander-in-chief. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)Associated Press
Public testimonies in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump have entered their second week, and nine more people are expected to speak in front of the House Intelligence Committee by Thursday.
House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump in September. They're investigating whether or not Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine unless the country's top officials investigated former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Much of the inquiry is focused on a July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Taylor, Kent, and Yovanovitch told the House Intelligence Committee that Trump had withheld military aid from Ukraine as leverage to pressure its top officials into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden; had his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani try to get information on the Bidens; and led a yearlong "smear campaign" against Yovanovitch alongside Giuliani before she was ousted.
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The national security officials and diplomats testifying in the inquiry's second week of public questioning previously spoke behind closed doors. But now the public will have a chance to hear their testimony.
Here's information on everyone known to be testifying publicly in the inquiry.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council, listened to the July 25 phone call betwen Trump and Zelensky at the center of the impeachment inquiry.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the gain would be for the president in investigating the son of a political opponent," he testified.
He said he was so concerned about the phone call that he reported it to John Eisenberg, the top lawyer for the National Security Council. He said Eisenberg told him not to tell anyone else about the phone call.
Jennifer Williams, a State Department official and advisor to Vice President Mike Pence.
Jennifer Williams, a State Department official and adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, listened in on the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky.
Williams has said she was concerned about what she heard, but there's no indication she flagged her concerns to any supervisors, a source told CNN.
Kurt Volker, Special envoy to Ukraine.
Kurt Volker, the former US special representative to Ukraine, was on a list of witnesses requested to appear by Republican members of the Intelligence Committee, according to NPR.
Volker said in his testimony that the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was not investigating the natural-gas company or any other corruption cases.
Volker said that Joe Biden was execution US policy in pushing for Shokin to be fired.
Additionally, Volker said in testimony that Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was a "direct conduit" between Trump and Ukraine.
Tim Morrison, a former National Security Council aide.
Tim Morrison, a former National Security Council aide, also heard the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky.
In closed-door testimony he said he didn't view Trump's actions as illegal or inappropriate.
"I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed," Morrison said in remarks that were obtained by the Associated Press.
Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the European Union.
Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the European Union, has faced scrutiny over his closed-door testimony and a three-page amendment he sent afterward that revised his original testimony.
In closed-door testimony, Sondland told the committee that he was involved in a campaign to pressure Ukraine.
In his amendment to the testimony, Sondland, a once-top donor to Trump, revised his account, admitting that he told senior aide to Zelensky that Trump would "likely" leverage hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid as a way to get Ukraine to launch investigations into the Bidens.
Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia.
Laura Cooper, a senior Pentagon official responsible for Ukraine, said in closed-door hearings that in conversations with Volker and Taylor, it was clear that Ukraine knew about the freeze on military aide before it was reported on in August.
"I knew from my Kurt Volker conversation and also from sort of the alarm bells that were coming from Ambassador Taylor and his team that there were Ukrainians who knew about this," she testified, according to the transcript.
Additionally, she said that Volker told her that he was working with Ukraine to make a statement that denied election interference.
David Hale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
In a closed-door hearing on November 6, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, testified about his knowledge of the ousting of US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
He said by the end of march, the criticism against Yovanovitch had grown so strong, that she emailed him, saying "she felt she could no longer function unless there was a strong statement of defense of her from the State Department."
Fiona Hill, formerly the top Russia specialist on the National Security Council,
Fiona Hill, the former NSC senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs, gave testimony at a closed-door hearing on a White House meeting about the Trump administration's quid pro quo that is a key factor in the impeachment hearing.
She said that during the meeting Sondland said Ukraine had to commit to launching investigations favorable to Trump in order to meet with him at the White House.
She said then-National Security Adviser John Bolton cut the meeting short and told her to report it to NSC counsel John Eisenberg.
David Holmes, a State Department aide who worked at the US Embassy in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, gave closed-door testimony about overhearing a phone call between Sondland and Trump that took place after the initial July 25 phone call.
He said he heard Sondland tell Trump that Zelensky would do "anything you ask him to" and that the Ukrainian president had committed to "do the investigation," according to NPR.
Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, already testified.
Marie Yovanovitch, former US ambassador to Ukraine, already testified.
Marie Yovanovitch, the ousted US ambassador to Ukraine, spoke about Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and top officials at the State Department in her testimony.
She described her ousting as a nearly yearlong "smear campaign" that was based on fabrications and lies.
