Public hearings into the possible impeachment of Donald Trump began today with testimony by State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent and senior U.S. envoy to Ukraine Bill Taylor. Both provided lengthy opening statements on what they witnessed and understood about a "back channel" effort by Rudy Giuliani, Trump, and others linking the release of congressionally mandated military aid to Ukraine to a Trump demand that the Ukrainian government open two "investigations" aimed at the sitting president’s electoral opponents. The first Trump-demanded investigation was of the Biden family's supposed links to Ukrainian corruption, claims that had already been debunked by government officials. The second was a bizarre claim that Democrats and their security vendor themselves hacked their own servers during the 2016 elections, successfully framed the Russian government for it, and that evidence of this secret conspiracy is kept somewhere in Ukraine.
Yes, you read that right. No, it doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.
Top moments and developments from today's hearing:
• Both Kent and Taylor laid out, in opening statements, a Sondland- and Giuliani-driven effort to circumvent U.S. diplomats responsible for Ukraine, including the intentional smearing of then-ambassador to Ukraine Yovanovitch, to instead force the Ukrainian president to agree to Trump's demanded "investigations." The most significant moment may have been Taylor's new testimony that one of his staffers reported to him that they personally witnessed a call between Sondland and Trump preparing for the next day's key Trump-Zelensky call. That witness said they heard Trump specifically ask Sondland about "the investigations"; after the calls was over, the staffer asked Sondland "what President Trump thought about Ukraine." Sondland responded that Trump "cares more about the investigations of Biden." That staffer is expected to be deposed by impeachment investigators by the end of the week.
• Taylor also testified that Ambassador Sondland expressed to him that he "had made a mistake" by telling Ukrainian officials that only a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky was "dependent" on Zelensky announcing public investigations of Biden and of Giuliani's 2016 election theories. "In fact, Ambassador Sondland said, everything was dependent on such an announcement including security assistance."
• Before the hearings, Republicans telegraphed at least one strategy: The point man for Trump's Ukraine demands, Rudy Giuliani, "will be cut loose." "As long as this is a step removed [from Trump], he's in good shape." Once the hearings actually began, however, Intelligence Committee Republicans focused primarily on process arguments and on Giuliani's own conspiracy theories about Ukraine, Biden, and Democrats. Of particular note: Rep. Devin Nunes' opening statement defending Trump and condemning the hearings was littered with false claims. Pundits, legal observers, and others were not impressed.
• Asked about this conversation by the press soon afterward, Trump claimed "I don't recall at all" and "I don't know a thing about that. First time I heard it." It will likely be a key point in next week's public testimony by Ambassador Sondland, who may or may not share Trump's specific memory lapses.
• In his own opening statement, House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff was blunt about the ramifications of Trump's alleged act. “The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit that ally’s vulnerability, and invite Ukraine’s interference in our election. Whether President Trump sought to condition official acts, such as a White House meeting or U.S. military assistance, on Ukraine’s willingness to assist with two political investigations that would help his reelection campaign. And if President Trump did either, whether such an abuse of his power is compatible with the office of the presidency.”
• Significant hearing time today was devoted to questioning of the witnesses by legal counsel for the majority and minority members, an important and much-needed deviation from the more typically scattered and confused member-based questioning. The Democratic counsel used his time to clarify and emphasize key points in Kent and Taylor's testimony; the Republican counsel devoted most of his to querying them on what they had "heard" about multiple Giuliani- and Republican-pushed conspiracies. Both witnesses expressed unveiled bafflement as to what the Republican counsel was going on about.
• While Republicans sought to give much of their time to the still-jacketless, still loud-voiced Jim Jordan (to widespread internet mockery), several other Republicans sought to create their own television moments. For Rep. John Ratcliffe, this consisted of a particularly weird performance. "If they impeach President Trump for blackmail, or extortion, or making threats or demands they have to call President Trump a liar to do it," said an outraged Ratcliffe, which one assumes sounded like a more compelling argument when he rehearsed it in his head.
• Jordan's antics were specifically rebuffed by Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, who responded to Jordan's numerous declarations that neither Taylor or Kent had personal knowledge of Trump's conversations by noting, to laughter, that "I would be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there."
• Responding to Democratic Rep. Andre Carson's observation that Ambassador Yovanovich's anti-corruption efforts were "probably disliked" by "some in the Ukraine," meaning those relied on by Rudy Giuliani to help bolster a smear campaign against her that would soon lead to her being removed by Donald Trump, Kent dryly noted that "you can't promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing off corrupt people."
• Jordan and other Republicans attempted to pin large parts of their Trump defense on the reasoning that because the military aid was eventually released without Ukraine's President Zelensky publicly ordering a Biden investigation, there was no underlying crime committed. This is intentionally misleading: Trump continued his hold on Ukrainian aid through the summer, and the administration only released that same aid after learning that a previously administration-quashed whistleblower complaint about Trump's act was about to be released to Congress.
• As has long been typical of Fox News "straight" news programs, Fox's coverage of the hearings was accompanied by graphics smearing each witness, using Trump and White House claims (and House Republican talking points) against them.
• Behind the scenes, an unnamed Republican operative messaged reporter Sahil Kapur with "this is a massive fucking shitshow" and "no one wants to be here."
• The White House claimed this morning that the famously television-obsessed Trump was not watching the impeachment hearings. This statement is at odds with Trump's own robust retweeting of various impeachment moments.
• Despite holding responsibility for an impeachment trial if the House makes formal charges against Trump, on Tuesday evening Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell claimed he would be "paying attention to what we're doing in the Senate" and ignoring today's hearings.