Laura Cooper, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, just arrived on Capitol Hill.
She’sexpected to testifyin front of the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees this morning.
Cooper is currently believed to be voluntarily appearing before the three House committees leading the Democratic impeachment inquiry and the Pentagon has not yet sought to block her testimony. She will be accompanied by a personal lawyer, according to defense officials.
Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, (testified) yesterday that he had been told President Trump would withholdmilitary aid to the countryuntil it publicly declared investigations would be launched that could help his reelection chances.
The deposition appears to directly refute the President’s claim that there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the former Soviet state.
But what does “quid pro quo” mean exactly?It’s a Latin termmeaning something for something.
The White House has denied there was any quid pro quo:ActingWhite House chief of staff Mick Mulvaneylast week said Trump held up an aid package to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into an unsubstantiated theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for hackingDemocratic Party emails in 2016.But hours later, Mulvaney attempted to claim that he did not admit to the quid pro quo despite clearly being asked if the Trump administration withheld funding for Ukraine for an investigation into the DNC server and answering affirmatively.
Says later, he aggressively denied that headmitted last week a quid pro quobetween Trump and Ukraine, saying again that he was misunderstood and that no such agreement occurred.
Trump himself has also denied any quid pro quo.Here’s what he tweeted last month:
Impeachment investigators plan to interview several high-profile individuals in closed-door depositions – though when those depositions will happen remains in flux.
Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified yesterday, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper is expected to appear before the committees today. Here’s who else is on the agenda:
Saturday:Philip Reeker, Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, is scheduled to testify. He was among the career state officials who worked to shield Marie Yovanovitch, former Ukraine ambassador, from conspiracies peddled by conservative media outlets beginning in March.
Delayed depositions:Several individuals have been previously scheduled to testify, but have had their depositions delayed. They include …
- (Michael Duffey,Office of Management and Budget associate director for National Security Programs
- Tim Morrison,the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe and Russia
- Suriya Jayanti, a State Department official
- Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Ukraine expert for the National Security Counsel
Democrats may have just unearthed their smoking gun and the quid pro quo in one fell swoop after the most consequential and dramatic turn yet in theirimpeachment investigationinto President Trump.
Here’s what happened:The top US diplomat inUkraine notified House investigatorsthat he was told that the release of military aid to Kiev would depend on a pledge to probe the 2016 election and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who, according toa new CNN pollConducted by SSRS, leads Trump by 10 points in a hypothetical 2020 general election matchup
Why it matters:The deposition byBill Tayloryesterday appears to directly refute the President’s claim that there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the former Soviet state.
Taylor’s testimony bolsters awhistleblower reportand atr anscriptof Trump’s notorious July 25 call with Ukraine’s President that shows he asked for a “favor” in return for badly needed aid as Ukraine fights Russia.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, a top Pentagon career official overseeing Ukraine policy, isscheduledto testify behind closed doors today.
Cooperfirst joined the Department of Defense in 2001. She held a series of posts at the Pentagon before taking on her current assignment.
She has been a vocal advocate for US support for Ukraine in the face of what she called the “threat from Russia,” telling an audience during a 2018 visit there that “going forward, the US intends to continue providing security assistance support to Ukraine across all domains, including maritime, by providing equipment to support its most critical operational needs.”
Her visit came shortly after Russian military forces seized Ukrainian vessels and sailors in the Kerch Strait.
“I want to be clear that the United States will remain committed to building the capacity of Ukraine’s military, to include its naval forces, “she added, citing progress Ukraine’s government had made in reforms as the reason the US would continue supporting its military.
Bill Taylortestified behind closed doorson Tuesday. In his opening statement, the top US diplomat in Ukraine gave an account of his concern, beginning in August of this year, that the US relationship with Ukraine “was being fundamentally undermined by an irregular, informal channel of US policy-making” led by President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
In the15 – page statementobtained by CNN, Taylor corroborated many of the claims made by the intelligence community’s whistleblower, whose complaint and subsequent inspector general’s report prompted the
Taylor also provided witness testimony to the events around the temporary withholding of US military aid to Ukraine, the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the eventual release of that military aid in anticipation of a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.
Taylor also undercut a key assertion made by US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified to Congress last week that Trump had not directed him to tell the Zelensky government that a Ukrainian investigation into Trump’s political opponents, including former vice president Joe Biden, was a precondition for having the meeting with Trump.
Read a breakdown of the five most important lines from Taylor’s statementhere.
CNN is tracking the requests and subpoenas from House Democrats as they collect documents and testimony, and move toward draftingarticles of impeachmentagainst Trump. If a majority of House lawmakers approve any of the articles, an impeachment trial will be held in the Senate. You can access our Trump impeachment trackerhere.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, a top Pentagon career official overseeing Ukraine policy, is (scheduled) to testify behind closed doors today.
Cooper is currently believed to be voluntarily appearing before the three House committees leading the Democratic impeachment inquiry and the Pentagon has not yet sought to block her testimony. She will be accompanied by a personal lawyer, according to defense officials.
Lawmakers are likely to ask Cooper aboutthe decision to freeze aid to Ukraineover the objections of the Pentagon.
As a top official overseeing US policy towards Ukraine, Cooper would have been involved with overseeing US military assistance to Kiev, assistance such as the $ 250 million aid package that was frozen by the Trump Administration despite the Pentagon’s recommendation that it go forward.
One thing to note:She is the second US official to testify this week in the impeachment inquiry.
Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine,testifiedTuesday that he had been told President Trump would withholdmilitary aid to the countryuntil it publicly declared investigations would be launched that could help his reelection chances – including into former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a copy of Taylor’sopening statementobtained by CNN.
Here are the key developments from yesterday in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump:
- Top diplomat’s testimony:Top US diplomat i n Ukraine Bill TaylortestifiedTuesday that he had been told President Trump would withhold military aid to the country until it publicly declared investigations would be launched that could help his reelection chances – including into former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a copy of Taylor’s opening statement obtained by CNN. Taylor said he was told that “everything” Ukraine wanted was dependent on publicly announcing an investigation that included Burisma, the company that hired Biden’s son Hunter, and Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the (election.)
- The White House’s reaction: White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a statement about the testimony, saying, “President Trump has done nothing wrong – this is a coordinated smear campaign from far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats waging war on the Constitution.”
- Trump’s latest criticism:The President used a racially charged term to describe the House of Representative’s impeachment inquiry,calling the process a “lynching” in a tweet Tuesday.This marks his first use of the term “lynching” to describe the inquiry – a term deeply intertwined with horrific racial violence and a dark era in the United States. Both House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell werecritical of the President’s choice of words.
- Trump allies want him to accept impeachment:The President has been encouraged in recent days to accept the fact that he will almost surely be impeached by the House, a source familiar with conversations Trump is having with allies told CNN.
- The timeline going forward:On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told CNN that Democrats will “take the time we need to take” when it comes to the impeachment inquiry.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings