Republican Congressmen Jim Jordan, railing on the process and calling on the whistleblower to reveal their identity, said that he was told that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent had been subpoenaed to appear today on Capitol Hill today.
Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, dodged CNN’s Manu Raju’s question about whether John Bolton should testify, saying only “if Adam Schiff decides to bring Mr. Bolton in we’ll have questions for him. ”
Kent just arrived at the Capitol for his behind closed-doors deposition in the impeachment inquiry. His testimony in front of the House Intel / Foreign Affairs / Oversight committees is scheduled to begin at 10 am ET.
This is the exchange Raju had with Jordan:
RAJU:Do you think it would be important for John Bolton to testify before these committees?
JORDAN:We’re getting ready to go in–we’ve had 30 hours of testimony, we’re going into our fourth interview. I assume this will be another eight to 10 – hour day , each individual offers their own individual and unique perspective. If Chairman Schiff, if Adam Schiff decides to bring Mr. Bolton in we’ll have questions for him.
President Trump tweeted for the first time today about the impeachment inquiry saying Democrats are “allowing no transparency at the Witch Hunt hearings.”
Trump appears to be referring to his former Russia adviser Fiona Hill’s closed door testimony yesterday.
“Let the facts come out from the charade of people, most of whom I do not know, they are interviewing for 9 hours each, not selective leaks, ”it’s unclear who Trump is referring to when he says“ most of whom I do not know. ”Hill was his top Russia adviser for two and a half years, who the President would certainly
Hill told lawmakers Monday that Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was circumventing the State Department to run what some Democrats have labeled a “shadow foreign policy” and that others in the administration were concerned about his work.
See Trump’s tweet below:
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent ju st arrived at the Capitol for his behind closed-doors deposition in the impeachment inquiry
His testimony in front of the House Intel / Foreign Affairs / Oversight committees is scheduled to begin at 10 am ET.
Some context:Kent, who has been in the foreign service since 1992,currently oversees policy for a number of eastern European nations, including Ukraine. Before that, he was the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Kiev.
Kent was among the career officials who sought to shield former US Ambassador to UkraineMarie “Masha” Yovanovitchfrom the campaign of false allegations against her in March (*****************************************************************************, according tointernal emailsturned over to Congress by State Department Inspector General Steve Linick in early October. Yovanovitch, who was removed from her post in May, testified to the House Committees on Friday.
Those emails show Kent, along with Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Phil Reeker, working to provide department counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl and Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale with facts to counter the conspiratorial narratives being pushed about the career diplomat.
Fiona Hill, President Trump’s former top Russia adviser, raised concerns about Rudy Giuliani’s role in US foreign policy toward Ukraine, telling lawmakers on Monday that she saw “wrongdoing” in the American foreign policy and tried to report it to officials including the National Security Council’s attorney, according to multiple sources.
“She saw wrongdoing related to the Ukraine policy and reported it,” one source said.
The same source told CNN that Hill testified that former national security adviser John Bolton referred to Giuliani – Trump’s personal attorney – as a “hand grenade “who was” going to blow everybody up, “as first reported byThe New York Times.
Hill additionally told lawmakers about what she described as a rogue operation carried out by US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, which Bolton characterized as being like a “drug deal,” that source said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Bidensaid he used “poor judgment”in serving on the board of a Ukrainian gas company because it has beco me a political liability for his father.
“I did nothing wrong at all,” he said in an interview with ABC News recorded over the weekend at his home in Los Angeles and broadcast Tuesday. “However, was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is – it’s a swamp, in many ways? Yeah.”
“Did I do anything improper? No, not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever,” Biden added.
The interview was the first time Hunter Biden had responded to questions about his foreign business ties, which President Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and his Republican allies used to characterize the former vice president’s family as corrupt. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.
Some more context:Trump has pushed an unproven accusation that then-Vice President Biden improperly tried to help his son by pressuring the Ukrainian government to fire the country prosecutor general. Hunter Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company at the time.
The Obama administration, American allies, the International Monetary Fund and Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, among others, had all made clear that they were displeased with the performance of Viktor Shokin, who became prosecutor general in 2015.
Hunter Biden said he and his father only had one discussion about Ukraine, in which Joe Biden said, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” and Hunter Biden said he responded, ” I do. “
In an interview with ABC News, excerpts of which aired on Good Morning America today, Hunter Biden said he did “not necessarily ”think he was a distraction to his father, Joe Biden’s, presidential campaign.
“No personally myself I’m not necessarily a distraction to his campaign, I’m never a distraction to my dad, but as it relates to actually going and being on stage with him, this is not a family business, “Biden said.
Later, Biden spoke on hisaddiction and possibility of relapsedue to the stress of being in the spotlight.
When asked if the “noise can affect your sobriety” Biden said, “You don’t want to live in the worry of it, because then you are feeding the beast.”
Biden also denied taking $ 1.5 billion “payoff” from China.
Some context:Hunter Bidenannounced that he willresign at the end of the monthfrom his board role in the management company of a private equity fund backed by Chinese state-owned entities, according to a statement released Sunday by his attorney.
The announcement comes asPresident Trump continues to lash outat the Biden and his father Joe Biden amid a House impeachment inquiry into his attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the former vice president during a July 25 phone call. That call is the focus of awhistleblower complaintat the center of Democrats’ probe.
Trump has pushed an unproven accusation that Joe Biden was improperly trying to help Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company, when the then-vice president pressured the Ukrainian government to fire the country prosecutor general.
CNN’sJeff ZelenyandCaroline Kellyalso contributed to this report.
The impeachment inquiry continued Monday with one of President Trump’s former advisers testifying in front of as series of House panels.
Let us catch you up …
- Another witness testified:Trump’s former adviser Fiona Hill is on Capitol Hill testifying yesterday in front of the three House panels that stuck around Washington during the Congressional recess to continue the impeachment probe into the President. Hill was expected to tell Congress that she was unaware of some aspects of theescalating Ukraine scandal, according to a source close with Hill who spoke to her Thursday.
- Congressman kicked out of the hearing:Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he was kicked out of Monday morning’s deposition of Fiona Hill by House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. Gaetz is not on any of the three committees conducting the impeachment investigation – Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight.
- More complaints from Republicans about the impeachment process:Ahead of Fiona Hill’s deposition yesterday, Republicans complained about the investigation process led by House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff, charging that Democrats should release the interview transcripts and allow Republicans subpoena power. Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, said Hill had been subpoenaed even though she was willing to testify voluntarily.
- What are we expecting today:Three Trump administration officials face subpoena deadlines – Vice President Mike Pence faces a deadline on a request for Ukraine-related documentssent earlier this month, while Defense Secretary Mark Esper and acting director of Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought both face a deadline on (subpoenas) requesting documents as part of the impeachment inquiry.
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