TRUMP IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY MOVES AHEAD
After start of televised hearings
The Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump moves ahead on Thursday after an opening day of public testimony that linked Trump to a pressure campaign to force Ukraine to conduct investigations that would benefit him politically.
The first day of televised hearings, following weeks of closed-door interviews about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, gave a potential audience of tens of millions of Americans their first look at a probe that has ignited partisan passions ahead of the 2020 presidential campaign.
William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, offered a new disclosure about the Republican president’s keen interest in getting Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, saying a member of his staff overheard a July 26 phone call in which Trump asked about those investigations.
After the call between Trump and Gordon Sondland, a former political donor appointed as a senior diplomat, the staff member asked Sondland what Trump thought about Ukraine, Taylor said.
“Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for,”
Taylor testified, referring to Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Trump told reporters at a White House news conference after the hearing ended that he knew “nothing” about the call with Sondland. “It’s the first time I heard it,” said Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing. WASHINGTON REUTERS
Nov 14