William B. Taylor Jr., the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and George P. Kent, a senior State Department official, are testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee in the first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry. Our correspondents are providing live analysis and insights.
-
Kenneth Vogel
Money and politics reporter
& num; FreeGeorgeKent
-
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
Goldman is putting full focus on the July 25 Trump-Zelensky call for the first time today. Democrats see the call as the centerpiece of their case.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
And now they’re reading from the transcript of that call that the White House released.
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
Read the transcript for yourself:
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Kent says that it’s clear that what Zelensky was hoping to get out of the discussion of the call was a date for a meeting with Trump.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Explaining what Crowdstrike is here:
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
The Democrats are now using Kent to shoot down conservative accusations that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election. This is important, because Trump and Republicans want to defend his interest in 2016 as legitimate. Democrats are trying to undercut them before they get there.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
“I think it’s amply clear that Russian interference was at the heart of interference in the 2016 election cycle, ”Kent says in response to a question .
Annie Karni
White House Correspondent
“At the time” Biden was the frontrunner. Ouch.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Yikes – Goldman with a zinger about Biden’s fall from poll prominence.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Likely unintended, but still.
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
And Schiff has recessed the committee for five minutes.
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
In congressional time, that may be more like 10 minutes.
Peter Baker
White House Correspondent
Meanwhile, Trump is now meeting with Erdogan at the White House. “The president and I are very good friends,” Trump told reporters, according to our own Michael Crowley, who is the pooler today. “We have been for a long time.”
Nicholas Fandos
Congressional Correspondent
It’s a good time to pause and digest. What does everyone think of what we have heard so far?
Peter Baker
White House Correspondent
Nick, it was obviously a serious and sober presentation of the case against Trump. Taylor especially comes across as a strong witness and it will be interesting too see how Republicans approach him after the break. But it’s not clear whether this will penetrate beyond the crowd already focused on the issue. How will Americans watching at home view this?
Kenneth Vogel
Money and politics reporter
Nick, Democrats are prompting Kent and Taylor to restate some of the most damaging elements of their closed-door testimony. It seems much smoother and more streamlined than the closed-door testimony, but that could be because it’s live, which, of course, was part of the Democrats’ goal here – to bring the testimony to life.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Peter, Trump just now saying at the White House that he and Erdogan “ have been ”friends for“ a long time ”is likely going to add to scrutiny about the relationship Trump has had with Turkey as a businessman.
Michael S. Schmidt
Washington Correspondent
And Nick, one of the most effective things the Democrats did so far was keep the discussion on life or death of Ukrainians. It helped the Democrats elevate the issues at hand and make an argument for the importance of their inquiry.
Maggie Haberman
White House Correspondent
Folks, we’re going to take a break right now as Congress does the same thing. We’ll be back shortly. Stay with us!
(Read More)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings