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The surprise that actually surprised most

Steve Coogan   | Paste BN

Good evening, OnPolitics readers. 

The first public hearings of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump began today with the House Intelligence Committee members peppering Ambassador Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, with questions.

We've got a lot to cover from an action-packed day. So, let's get started.

How the live impeachment hearing began

In his opening statement, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said lawmakers are looking for answers to whether Trump sought to exploit the vulnerability of Ukraine by withholding a White House meeting or military aid in exchange for investigations into his political rival.

Kent, who oversees policy in a half-dozen former Soviet states including Ukraine, said in his opening statement, "As a general principle, I do not believe the United States should ask other countries to engage in selective, politically associated investigations or prosecutions against opponents of those in power, because such selective actions undermine the rule of law regardless of the country." 

Taylor's new revelation surprises many

A new revelation in public testimony from Ambassador Bill Taylor was that one of his aides overheard a phone call on July 26 between President Trump and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, in which the president inquired about "the investigations." Trump had requested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that had been under investigation, as well as alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election. 

Taylor also testified that his staffer asked Sondland what the president thought about Ukraine after the phone call and Sondland said, "President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden," than U.S. policies on Ukraine, according to Taylor.

Later, during a news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump responded to the testimony by denying that he had a phone conversation with Sondland.

"I know nothing about that," Trump said. "First time I've heard it. ... I don’t recall. Not at all. Not even a little bit." 

That don't impress Republicans much

It's a sham. It was boring. It's a sham and it was boring. 

No matter how it was put, Republicans weren't shy with their negative opinions of the Wednesday's testimony, characterizing it as hearsay and a "snooze fest." 

North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, one of President Donald Trump's fiercest defenders on Capitol Hill, said, "When we start to look at the facts, everybody has their impression of what truth is." He later added that there was "more yawning going on than there is aha moments." 

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., said that the hearing allowed the public to see impeachment was a "sham" and that the "Democrat-led impeachment inquiry is falling apart." 

President Trump's son Eric cut to the chase on Twitter, decrying the lack of entertainment value in the first open hearing in the impeachment inquiry against his father. 

"This is horribly boring ... #Snoozefest," the president's son tweeted. 

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham also chimed in on Twitter saying, "This sham hearing is not only boring, it is a colossal waste of taxpayer time & money."

Summing up the day ...

Our key takeaways of the day included Taylor's startling revelation, Taylor and Kent holding up fine despite intense grilling from Republican members of Congress, Kent saying gas company Burisma should be investigated for paying a bribe to kill a probe into the company and Trump vowing not to watch the hearing only to tweet consistently during it. 

Referring to Taylor's unexpected revelation about the phone call one of his aides overheard, Paste BN's Susan Page said it best, "To the surprise of nearly everyone, there was a surprise."

House Dems announce more public hearings in Trump inquiry

But wait, there's more! The House Intelligence Committee announced Tuesday evening they will hold open hearings from eight more officials next week from the following witnesses: 

  • Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the first official interviewed in the inquiry who listened to a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the center of a whistleblower complaint (Tuesday, Nov. 19) 
  • Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence (Nov. 19)
  • Kurt Volker, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine (Nov. 19)
  • National Security Council official Timothy Morrison (Nov. 19)
  • Sondland submitted an amendment last week to his original testimony that took place behind closed doors in October, adding that he had communicated a quid pro quo to a Ukraine official. (Wednesday, Nov. 20)
  • Defense official Laura Cooper (Nov. 20)
  • David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs (Nov. 20)
  • Fiona Hill, former National Security Council senior director for Europe and Russia outlined key players in a pressure campaign for Ukraine to open investigations into the Bidens. (Thursday, Nov. 21)

Wait ... Did Steve Bannon compliment Nancy Pelosi and question the GOP?

Yup, it's true. First, Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and Trump's 2016 campaign CEO, said in an interview with CBS News that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's handling of the impeachment inquiry into Trump is "actually quite brilliant." 

Later, Bannon also observed Republicans "are not as united on messaging as the Democrats" regarding impeachment.

And with that bit of strangeness, we'll wrap it up here.

Until tomorrow, dear OP readers.

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