The Democratic-led US House of Representatives will hold its first public hearing on its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The hearing in front of the House Intelligence Committee begins at 10AM ET.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi described today as a “sad day,” “calm day,” and “prayerful day.”
Background
The Democrats insist Trump threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine to President Volodymyr Zelensky unless the government investigated former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Hunter sat on the board of Burisma Holdings when Biden served as the top US government official to rebuild our relationship with Ukraine after the fall of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych.
The transcript shows no pressure or threats. Zelensky has said many times Trump and his administration has not pressured him into an investigation.
Witnesses
- Bill Taylor – Top diplomat in Ukraine
- George Kent – Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Questioning
From NBC News:
Schiff and Nunes will have 45 minutes each to question witnesses in the first part of the hearing. They can also delegate the questioning to a committee lawyer instead, which Schiff has indicated he’ll do.
Schiff will determine if there is a need for an additional 90 minute staff round or to move on to lawmaker questions.
Once the staff question round or rounds conclude, the format will revert to one similar to a traditional congressional hearing, with lawmakers getting five minutes each to ask questions.
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Comments
Please fix this!
“Zelensky has said many times Trump or anyone in his administration pressured him into an investigation.”
You and Tom Swift are exactly right. Adding neither and nor works just fine.
“Zelensky has said many times Trump or anyone in his administration pressured him into an investigation.”
Should be:
“Zelensky has said many times neither Trump nor anyone in his administration pressured him into an investigation.”
Meanwhile Schiff for Brains is claiming that any Republican who says the naughty words Eric Ciaramella will have charges brought in the House Ethics Committee. Oh good, I get to repeat banned words. Eric Ciaramella. This is better than watching people with covers on their paperback books when they were reading Lady Chatterly’s Lover back in the early ’60s. Eric Ciaramella.
Chastain’s on the impeachment beat. You’ll just have to work around the errors.
This is the outline of the Republican story, from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL):
Gaetz: ‘All of the Dirty Tricks from Adam Schiff’ Will Not Change Facts
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/11/13/gaetz-all-of-the-dirty-tricks-from-adam-schiff-will-not-change-facts/
“First, that we can see the transcript, and there is no conditionality on any aid. Second, that President Trump and President Zelensky, the actual people on the call, said there was no pressure,” Gaetz continued. “Third, at the time of the call, the Ukrainians were not aware of any delay on their aid, whatsoever. And, fourth and finally, the aid that Barack Obama withheld was delivered by the Trump administration without any beginning of any investigations into Burisma or Hunter Biden.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post is running an op ed by David Ignatius “Ukranians are Dying” that alleges “While Trump was playing politics on Ukraine, people who depended on US military aid were getting killed and wounded.”
I will be either listening, or reading carefully, but at this point, I notice that the aid to Ukraine was in fact in time and more generous than that of the previous administration. Further, Ukraine was allowed to purchase arms the Obama administration had denied. I have to wonder at Ignatious’ sources.
What? You are denigrating the tremendous aid to combat effectiveness and morale increase of the MREs and sleeping bags His Imperial Executiveness sent to combat the Russian invasion? He remembered Napoleon, or somebody old like that, said an army marches on its stomach and he knows he likes a nice warm bed, so he sent MREs and sleeping bags to help the Ukrainian Army defeat the Russian Army.
Yes, and Trump both added to that kind of aid, and allowed the Ukrainians to buy the arms they wanted, unlike Obama. The Ukrainians never knew anything was being “held up,” until they read about it in the New York Times.
Zelensky has said many times Trump or anyone in his administration pressured him into an investigation.
He said he was pressured? News to me. . .
Actually the outcome of the hearings aren’t all that important.
What is important is that the Democrat media (I repeat myself) amplify every single lie that will be told over the next couple days so as to suppress Republican turn out next year.
Thats all this is really about. Making Trump so toxic that he becomes, in effect, the Hillary Clinton of 2020 (ie. unelectable).
Then what ever the Democrat media reports, the world media will repeat without question because you know…they are only reporting the news as to what is happening in America. None of them will sit down and critically evaluate how Democrats fabricated everything to lead to todays hearings.
I object to the term Democrat Media. It should be Democrat Propaganda Outlets.
I’m of the school of thought that this is possibly Pelosi giving the Squad and Schiff the rope to hang themselves. Apparently, Schiff is testifying that he doesn’t know the identity of the “whistleblower”. This explains he will not allow anyone to mention Chiaramella nor allow him to called in as a witness.
This mind end much faster than everyone expects. I expect Pelosi will pull the plug on Schiff and then lecture the Squad about their idiocy to end this charade. This would in effect restore her control of the House Democrats. They could then concentrate on the 2020 elections.
Why would Pelosi do anything? She’s in the catbird seat. Relying on ethics and standards to come into play for skeletor was your first mistake.
I suppose if presiding over the destruction of the Democratic Party and being the only Speaker to lose the House majority is her goal. Nope. Pelosi and McConnell cut a deal because just about everyone in DC is corrupt and they are among the most corrupt of all. They are going to lose the 2020 election.
But they need to run someone like Mondale to rescue the party. Set themselves up for 2024. Losing “stupid” with a communist candidate like Warren or Sanders would be the end of the Dems for decades, if not forever. McConnell is trying to protect the status quo and stopping the impeachment crap while allowing Pelosi a way out is what I believe is going on here.
Now how about explaining yourself? Catbird seat? How so?
“hearings” in Washington – don’t mean ANYTHING any more. Ever.
Call me when they actually ARREST LAW BREAKERS.
Biden, Hillary, Bill, Obama, Holder, Jarrett OR ANY OTHER CRIMINALS from O’s “administration’ years.
I give a RATS about “hearings” in Washington…