Impeachment inquiry public hearings: What we’ve learned over the past 2 weeks

Fiona Hill, former senior director on Russia at the National Security Council, testified this morning before the House Intelligence Committee.  She took Republicans to task for conspiracy theories that accused Ukraine, not Russia, of interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

Diplomat David Holmes also testified today. He overheard a July 26 phone call between President Trump and Gordon Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. Holmes said his “clear impression” was that President Trump withheld security aid from Ukraine so they would investigate the Bidens.

These past two weeks have been historic, with key figures testifying that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, and that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence were “in the loop.”

We also saw Trump disparaging a former ambassador on Twitter in real time as she testified, something Democrats see as witness intimidation.

Credits

Guests:

  • Nancy McEldowney - former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, former director of the Foreign Service Institute
  • Amy MacKinnon - National security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy Magazine - @ak_mack