An overview of our impeachment protection for Friday, Nov. 15.
What’s taking place in the present day
Day 2 of the historic Trump impeachment hearings focuses on former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch — a profession State Department officer yanked from her publish by the president — the one witness earlier than the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Click right here to observe the listening to dwell.
The diplomat, who served each Republican and Democratic presidents, is predicted to relay her placing story of being abruptly recalled by Donald Trump and advised to “watch my back” in a swiftly growing sequence of occasions that sounded alarms in regards to the White House’s shadow international coverage.
Meanwhile, behind closed doorways, the committee will hear from David Holmes, named in information experiences because the official within the U.S. embassy in Kiev who Taylor stated in Wednesday overheard a name between Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland is the United States Ambassador to the European Union.
While the listening to was underway, the White House launched a tough transcript of Trump’s first April cellphone name with Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky. Read the doc right here.
Also: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mentioned impeachment proceedings in her weekly press convention on Thursday. Read a transcript right here.
What to observe for
A cheat sheet from Lynn Sweet:
Will Yovanovitch, the goal of a smear marketing campaign stated to be orchestrated by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, be attacked by Republicans as one way or the other unfit for the job? She is a 33-year veteran with a status as a corruption fighter who has served GOP and Democratic presidents. Will Democrats do a greater job than on Wednesday of deflecting the GOP makes an attempt to delegitimize the hearings? Keep an eye fixed on one of many youngest members of Congress rising within the nationwide highlight. Republicans, with 9 members on the panel to the Democrats’ 13, have just one girl, Rep. Elise Stefanik, (R, N.Y.). At the Wednesday listening to Stefanik was outspoken virtually from the beginning when she pushed Intelligence panel chair Rep. Adam Schiff, (D, Calif.), over witnesses the GOP wished. Later, when it was her flip to query diplomats George Kent and William Taylor, she was crisp and environment friendly in laying out the GOP case, and in some methods more practical than attacker Rep. Jim Jordan, (R, Ohio). She outlined the Republican protection this fashion: “For the millions of Americans viewing today, the two most important facts are the following. Number one, Ukraine received the aid. Number two, there was in fact no investigation into [Joe] Biden.”
Follow Sun-Times columnist and Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet on Twitter for dwell updates from the listening to.
What’s forward
Hearings proceed subsequent week.
On Tuesday, Jennifer Williams, aide to Vice President Mike Pence, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, Kurt Volker, the previous US particular envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a National Security Council aide On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of protection and David Hale, the beneath secretary of State for political affairs On Thursday, Former White House Russia professional Fiona Hill
Wondering what this all means? Here’s a primer on how the impeachment course of works.
Hearing transcripts
Read the opening statements from Wednesday’s witnesses:
Deposition transcripts Ukraine diplomat William Taylor George Kent, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Laura Cooper, Department of Defense Catherine Croft, State Department particular adviser for Ukraine Christopher Anderson, State Department specialist on Ukraine Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union Kurt Volker, former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Michael McKinley, former adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Fiona Hill, international affairs…
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