Trump news: President asked about Ukraine 'investigations', impeachment hearings told as Democrats reject effort to force whistleblower testimony
Follow the latest updates from Capitol Hill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The House impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump is beginning its first public hearings with Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, and State Department official George Kent. Both witnesses delivered joint-testimony to Congress as the president derides the process as a “partisan sham”.
Mr Trump has meanwhile reportedly been threatening to fire his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney over his recent blunders. He also previously considered axing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the US intelligence community, over his handling of the whistle-blower complaint about his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, as senior Republicans insist they will not be watching the hearings and Mr Trump hosts his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday, progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is calling for the resignation of senior Trump aide Stephen Miller over racist emails he sent to the right-wing news site Breitbart, in which he advocated white nationalist ideologies.
Following a meeting between the two leaders, Mr Trump repeated to reporters at a press conference that the day's public impeachment hearings are a "witch hunt" and a "joke".
"I haven't watched, I haven't watched for one minute because I've been with the president which is much more important as far as I'm concerned," Mr Trump said.
But the leaders were at odds following their controversial summit, to which five Senators were invited, discussing Turkey's cease-fire against Kurdish forces in Syria, as well as a two-day $100b trade deal and Turkey's acquisition of Russian anti-aircraft weapons.
Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
New York Republican Elsie Stefanik has offered a parliamentary inquiry about when Republicans will be able to invite their own witnesses. Adam Schiff is speaking out against attempts to out the identity of the whistleblower.
Texas Republican Mike Conaway has proposed a motion for a closed-door impeachment hearing in an apparent plot twist, though Adam Schiff has suspended that motion. Now Jim Jordan is claiming Mr Schiff knows the identity of the whistleblower and is asking when they will be able to subpoena that anonymous official.
Mr Schiff concludes before allowing both impeachment witnesses to deliver their opening statements:
"We will do everything necessary to protect the whistleblower's identity. And I'm disturbed to hear members of the Committee ... seek to undermine those protections by outing the whistleblower."
George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state, says in his opening remarks:
"It was unexpected, and most unfortunate, to watch some Americans — including those who allied themselves with corrupt Ukrainians in pursuit of private agendas — launch attacks on dedicated public servants advancing U.S. interests in Ukraine."
The first line of questioning will come from Daniel Goldman, a New York prosecutor hired by House investigators.
Here is an interview I did with him last year about how Donald Trump could face criminal charges before he was hired to help lead the probe into the president:
As the impeachment hearings kick off, the White House says Donald Trump is busy in Oval Office meetings and not watching the proceedings on television:
George Kent is outlining the ten major takeaways from his closed-door hearings with House investigators. He lays out his job responsibilities, and says he has both first-hand and second-hand knowledge about the incidents that led to the inquiry against Donald Trump.
"As a general principle, I do not believe the US should ask other countries to engage in selective, politically associated investigations or prosecutions against opponents of those in power, because such selective actions undermine the rule of law regardless of the country."
George Kent says he did not witness any effort by the previous administration to withhold any investigations into Burisma, where Joe Biden's son, Hunter, served on a board of directors.
He says he instead witnessed a "smear" against Ukraine diplomat Marie Yovanovitch.
Jackie Speier has spoken out against Devin Nunes' comments referring to the impeachment proceedings as a "cult" -
George Kent says that while he raised concerns Hunter Biden’s post on Burisma may “create the perception of a conflict of interest,” he “did not witness any effort by any US official to shield Burisma from scrutiny”.
He has concluded his remarks, and Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor will now deliver evidence.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments