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Getty Images Top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, William B. Taylor Jr., at right, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George P. Kent are sworn in prior to providing testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building.
The acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on Wednesday offered new information about President Donald Trump’s interest in having the country investigate Trump’s political rivals, as a House committee kicked off the first open impeachment hearings.
Facing a panel of lawmakers, William Taylor said Trump spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland on July 26 about “the investigations.” That conversation came a day after Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asked for probes of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, and the 2016 presidential election in the U.S. Taylor said he was told about the conversation by an aide.
The diplomat’s testimony came after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff opened the hearing by warning that the presidency is at stake, as Democrats mark a new and dramatic phase of the probe into alleged wrongdoing by Trump.
“There are few actions as consequential as the impeachment of a president,” said Schiff, a California Democrat, in an opening statement. Rep. Devin Nunes, the committee’s top Republican, called the impeachment inquiry a “publicly orchestrated media smear campaign” in his opening remarks.
The panel is hearing testimony from Taylor and George Kent, a senior State Department official.
As Democrats investigate whether Trump abused his power by withholding aid to Ukraine to pressure that country, the U.S. president has denied wrongdoing and furiously attacked Democrats and public officials. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, “Never Trumpers!” That’s a label he’s applied to Taylor and other officials despite lack of evidence of any political bias.
Trump has described as “perfect” the July 25 phone call in which he asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. He again Wednesday urged his Twitter followers to read what the White House calls a transcript of the call — which is not a verbatim document. (See summary of Trump-Zelensky call as released by the White House.)
The hearings come a week before Biden and other Democratic White House hopefuls meet for their next debate. With the 2020 campaign intensifying and the first public impeachment hearings getting underway, polls showed more than half of Americans supported beginning the impeachment process — but under half supported Trump’s impeachment and removal.
The impeachment hearings were competing for investors’ attention on Wednesday with a Capitol Hill appearance by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
U.S. stocks SPX, +0.04% DJIA, +0.12% were mixed as Washington and Wall Street focused on both impeachment and the Fed chief. Powell’s testimony began at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
Wednesday’s impeachment hearing is expected to last most of the day. On Friday, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is scheduled to testify, and she is expected to describe the push to oust her from her post.
An impeachment vote is expected in the Democratic-led House next month, with a Senate trial to follow, likely in January. The Republicans who control the Senate, however, are not considered likely to back Trump’s removal from office.
Also see: Mulvaney won’t sue over impeachment inquiry, will instead refuse to cooperate.
