Impeachment inquiry: How we got here and where we're going
How a phone call and a request for a favor moved the nation closer to the possibility of seeing a president impeachedThose words have now prompted deployment of the ultimate political weapon, an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution as a means other than the ballot to remove a president from office.
Video by Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Public hearings are set to begin Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry into allegations that President Donald Trump used military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into conducting investigations that stood to benefit him politically.
The House Intelligence Committee will conduct the hearings this week, which are scheduled to include testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine; William Taylor, who replaced Yovanovitch as the top American diplomat in Ukraine; and George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department who oversees policy in a half-dozen former Soviet states, including Ukraine.
Inside Adam Schiff’s Impeachment Game Plan
‘This president, he’s like a planetary object,” Adam Schiff said. “He warps time. And things that you think happened a couple weeks ago, it turns out, only happened a day or two ago.” Schiff was slumped in a chair in his Washington office, tie askew and eyebrows ruffled, as if he’d been kneading his forehead. It was a little past 5:30 p.m. on the first Friday of October, the end of a week that, Schiff thought, “has been like three years compressed into a week.
In their closed-door testimony, Yovanovitch, Taylor and Kent raised concerns about the efforts of Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to push Ukraine toward opening investigations related to former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 election interference. Taylor testified that the military aid was frozen for the explicit purpose of compelling Ukraine to begin the probes, contradicting Trump's claim that there was never a "quid pro quo."
On Sept. 25, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, following a whistleblower complaint over his dealings with Ukraine.
(Pictured) Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks on Oct. 23 in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Impeachment hearings go live on TV with first witnesses
The closed doors of the Trump impeachment investigation are swinging wide open. When the gavel strikes at the start of the House hearing Wednesday morning, America and the rest of the world will have the chance to see and hear for themselves for the first time about President Donald Trump's actions toward Ukraine and consider whether they are, in fact, impeachable offenses. It's a remarkable moment, even for a White House full of them.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, along with others, march on Pennsylvania Ave., protesting against climate policies and to impeach President Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 8.
School students cheer to demonstrators as they pass their bus during the march on Pennsylvania Av.e., protesting against climate policies and to impeach Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 8.
Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) exits the U.S. House of Representatives Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) during a break in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 7.
Jennifer Williams, a special adviser to Vice President Mike Pence for Europe and Russia who is a career foreign service officer, departs after a closed-door interview in the impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 7.
Former National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, center, arrives to review his testimony before a closed-door interview in the impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 7.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, talks to reporters on the driveway outside of the White House Nov. 1, in Washington, DC. Conway fielded questions about the ongoing impeachment inquiry, Trump's decision to become a resident of Florida and a potential visit to the White House by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presides over the House vote on a resolution formalizing the impeachment inquiry against President Donald J. Trump on the House floor in the US Capitol, on Oct. 31.
Former top national security adviser to President Donald Trump, Tim Morrison, arrives for a closed-door meeting to testify as part of the House impeachment inquiry into Trump, on Oct. 31.
U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) walks to attend testimony from Timothy Morrison, National Security Council’s Russia and Europe Director, at a closed-door deposition, on Oct. 31.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., right, speaks to members of the media as Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, left, looks on as they arrive for a closed-door meeting to hear testimony from Tim Morrison, on Oct. 31.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., speaks to reporters as he leaves a closed door meeting where Catherine Croft, a State Department adviser on Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper testify as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 30.
The House of Representatives Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern (D-MA) talks with an aide as he chairs a Rules Committee markup hearing to prepare a resolution directing House congressional committees to continue their ongoing investigations in the impeachment inquiry, on Oct. 30.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi talks to reporters encountered as she walks near the room where witnesses are testifying in the impeachment inquiry led by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 30.
House Rules Committee members Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., right, work on the markup of the resolution that will formalize the next steps in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, on Oct. 30.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks to reporters outside the House Intelligence Committee SCIF as U.S. foreign service officer Catherine Croft, who once served as a deputy to then-Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker, testifies inside as part of the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry, on Oct. 30.
The U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee holds a markup hearing to prepare a resolution directing House congressional committees to continue their ongoing investigations in the impeachment inquiry into the President Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 30.
U.S. foreign service officer Catherine Croft, who once served as a deputy to then-Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker, arrives to testify as part of the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into the President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Oct. 30.
Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga., a member of the House Rules Committee, argues a point during a markup of the resolution that will formalize the next steps in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol, on Oct. 30, 2019.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) speak to reporters while Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, testifies as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 29.
Live updates: Trump lashes out at Democrats before historic impeachment proceeding is set to begin
Democrats have called two diplomats whose testimony they see as key to making the case that the president improperly pressed Ukraine for investigations that could benefit him politically.President Trump lashed out at Democrats, contending the deck is stacked against him, hours before a historic, nationally televised impeachment hearing was set to begin Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee.
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., arrives for a Democratic caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 29. Her panel is one of the key committees with jurisdiction in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) exits a closed-door deposition of U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 28.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, center, speaks with members of the media after former deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman signaled that he would not appear as scheduled for a closed door meeting to testify as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Monday, Oct. 28, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Standing with Jordan are Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., left, and Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Texas.
Read: William Taylor's opening statement at impeachment hearing
Read: William Taylor's opening statement at impeachment hearing(Pictured) Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks on Oct. 23 in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell participates in a news conference on Oct. 29, in Washington. Republican Senators took the opportunity to criticize House Democrats' approach to an impeachment probe into President Donald J. Trump.
A draft of a U.S. House of Representatives resolution formally laying out the next steps in the Democratic impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, authorizing public committee hearings and the public release of transcripts of closed-door depositions, is seen after its release on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 29.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives to testify as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 29.
'He's working': White House says Trump is not watching first public impeachment hearing
President Trump is not watching the first day of impeachment hearings on television, according to his spokeswoman.Much of Washington came to a standstill on Wednesday morning to hear the opening exchanges in a day of testimony that could decide Trump’s fate.
From left, Reps. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Scott Perry, R-Pa., conduct a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center outside the deposition of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, on Oct. 29.
Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe, leaves the Capitol in Washington after a closed-door interview on Oct. 26. Reeker took questions about President Donald Trump's ouster of the ambassador of Ukraine in May and whether he had knowledge about efforts to persuade Ukraine to pursue politically motivated investigations.
Touting membership cards, Trump campaign steps up anti-impeachment Facebook ads
President Donald Trump's re-election campaign is ramping up a Facebook ad blitz.(Pictured) Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks on Oct. 23 in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks with the media outside of the closed door interview for Acting Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 26. Like other impeachment inquiry witnesses, the Trump administration has directed Reeker not to testify, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the interaction. But Reeker appeared anyway after receiving his subpoena from the House, the person said.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of President Donald Trump's chief allies, says he will introduce a resolution condemning the Democratic-controlled House for pursuing a "closed door, illegitimate impeachment inquiry," during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 24.
The non-binding resolution by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman gives Senate Republicans a chance to show support for the president at a moment when Trump is urging his allies to get tougher and fight harder for him.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., flanked by Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, left, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight Reform, right, and other conservative House Republicans, complain to reporters about how House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is conducting the impeachment investigation on Oct. 23 at the Capitol in Washington.
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) leaves after a closed-door deposition from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry on Oct. 23.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaks at a news conference in front of House Republicans after Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper arrived for a closed door meeting to testify as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Oct. 23. Close to two dozen Republicans had attempted to enter a secure room where Cooper was scheduled to testify.
New testimony ties Trump more directly to Ukraine pressure campaign
The acting ambassador to Ukraine described a phone call in which the president checked on the status of “the investigations.”William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, told lawmakers that the phone conversation between the president and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in Kyiv was overheard by one of his aides. Afterward, Sondland told the aide that Trump cared more about investigations of former vice president Joe Biden than other issues in Ukraine, Taylor said.
Former Ambassador William Taylor leaves a closed door meeting after testifying as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 22.
President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar (L) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listen during a cabinet meeting at the Cabinet Room of the White House, on Oct. 21, in Washington, DC. Trump held a cabinet meeting to discuss his administration’s agenda and made extensive remarks about impeachment and the situation on the Syrian/Turkish border.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) arrives with Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA) to hear testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland behind closed-doors, as part of the impeachment inquiry led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Oct. 17.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney answers questions during a briefing at the White House Oct. 17 in Washington, DC. Mulvaney answered a range of questions relating to the issues surrounding the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, and other issues during the briefing.
US Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland (C) arrives at the US Capitol on Oct. 17, in Washington, DC. Sondland will appear before Congress for a closed deposition on the Ukraine scandal.
Michael McKinley, a former top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, leaves Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 16, after testifying before congressional lawmakers as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, and Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., left, speak as they leave a news conference to unveil the College Affordability Act on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 15.
George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, arrives to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 15.
The US President's former top Russia adviser, Fiona Hill (C) leaves after a deposition for the House Intelligence committee regarding an impeachment inquiry Oct. 14 in Washington, DC. Hill, who was subpoenaed by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees for closed door depositions, is among the handful of current and former Trump administration members being interviewed this week by House panels.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs for travel to Minnesota from the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 10. The president spoke about the impeachment investigation, the Turkish incursion into Syria, and the Giuliani associates arrested today at Dulles airport on charges of violating campaign finance rules.
Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, left, arrives on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 11, in Washington, as she is scheduled to testify before congressional lawmakers on Friday as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, arrives for an expected meeting with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, on Capitol Hill, on Oct. 11.
Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) (L), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) (R) walk down the spiral staircase in the basement of the Capitol on Oct. 11. House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs, House Oversight and Reform Committee are taking a deposition from former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as part of the impeachment inquiry.
Kevin Downing, right, attorney representing two Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, leaves the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, on Oct. 10. Two Florida businessmen tied to President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested on campaign finance violations resulting from a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump's re-election.
Mike Pence answers questions from the press about the whistleblower and President Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine following his remarks on the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) at Manning Farms in Waukee, Iowa, Oct. 9.
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event, on Oct. 9, 2019, in Rochester, N.H. For the first time, he called for the impeachment of Donald Trump saying, "Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed the nation, and committed impeachable acts."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, arrives to give a statement to members of the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8. The Trump administration barred Gordon Sondland, the U.S. European Union ambassador, from appearing before a House panel conducting the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump speaks about the U.S. House impeachment investigation during a formal signing ceremony for the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement at the White House in Washington, on Oct. 7.
Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, arrives at the Capitol where he will go behind closed doors to be questioned about the whistleblower complaint that exposed a July phone call the president had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his family, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 4.
Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, arrives for a closed-door interview with House investigators, as House Democrats proceed with the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, before boarding Marine One for a trip to Florida. He told reporters, "China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is joined by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., at a news conference as House Democrats move ahead in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 2.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during a meeting with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Oct. 2.
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs a ceremonial swearing in ceremony for new Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 30.
Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, participate in an Armed Forces welcome ceremony for the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley on Sept. 30, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, defended himself on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" from accusations lodged by a former White House official that he has trafficked unfounded theories about foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, on Sept. 29.
The first page of the unclassified memorandum of U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is shown on Sept. 27.
Members of Congress and activists support an immediate inquiry towards articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the “Impeachment Now!” rally on Sept. 26, in Washington, D.C.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 26, in Washington, DC. Speaker Pelosi discussed an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Slideshow by photo services
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Impeachment inquiry: Who are the 15 witnesses in the Trump impeachment inquiry and what have they said?
Republicans lawmakers on the committee will try to cast doubt on the testimony from the trio of diplomats – and on the impeachment inquiry in general. They are likely to try to change the focus by insisting that Trump had a legitimate concern about alleged corruption involving Biden and his son Hunter.
Here are the committee members to watch:
Adam Schiff
Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was a leading Trump critic during the investigations into Russian election meddling, predicting after the midterm elections that Trump could "be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time" when he leaves office. He said in a USA TODAY op-ed that the president appeared to be "compromised" by Russia.
In the Ukraine case, Schiff said Trump is guilty of "abusing his power to the detriment of our national security and doing so to get yet another foreign country to intervene in our election."
Republicans called on Schiff to step down after the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller did not lead to official charges against the Trump campaign. They have repeated calls for him to resign amid the impeachment inquiry, implying that he manipulated witnesses. Trump alleged he doctored the transcripts in the case, despite the fact that Republicans were present for the testimony.
Devin Nunes
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and preceded Schiff as chairman, a role he used to defend Trump during the Russia probe. Nunes temporarily stepped aside from his leadership role during the probe amid an ethics complaint that said he briefed White House officials on classified material in the case without first sharing it with the committee.
Nunes called the impeachment inquiry a one-sided political "sham." Saturday, he submitted a list of proposed Republican witnesses that included Hunter Biden and witnesses he said could support Trump and Giuliani's theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was the true culprit behind meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
Nunes asked for the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint helped spark the inquiry to publicly testify so Trump can "confront his accusers" and Republicans could find out who "may have fed the information" to him or her.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, moved to the Intelligence Committee this month to help lead the defense of the president during the public hearings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Jordan's addition would "ensure more accountability and transparency in this sham process."
During the initial hearings in the inquiry, Jordan repeatedly used his opening statements to condemn what he called the Democrats' unfair process in the impeachment probe.
Like Nunes, Jordan said the whistleblower should be compelled to testify, writing in a USA TODAY op-ed that "Americans should assess for themselves the credibility and motivations of the individual who initiated the inquiry."
Eric Swalwell
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., had been a zealous advocate for Trump's impeachment even before the Ukraine allegations became public, joining other Democrats who said the potential acts of obstruction of justice outlined by Mueller warranted the president's removal.
Swalwell, who was briefly among the large field of Democratic presidential primary candidates, is a former prosecutor who will be eager to put the Trump administration on trial.
Will Hurd
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, is a moderate Republican who has bucked the president, calling Trump's depiction of a crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border a "myth." Hurd, the lone African American Republican in the House, called Trump's tweet telling four minority congresswomen to "go back" to their countries of origin "racist and xenophobic."
Hurd has been highly critical of Democrats' handling of the impeachment process and backed calls for Hunter Biden to testify. The former CIA officer does not support the push to force the whistleblower to be unmasked.
Hurd will be a lawmaker to watch for any signs that Republicans from swing districts could break ranks and turn on Trump.
During an interview this week on "Fox News Sunday," Hurd said he believed Trump was trying to crack down on corruption in Ukraine, but "trying to get information on a political rival to use in a political campaign is not something a president or any official should be doing" and "would be a violation of the law."
John Ratcliffe
This summer, Trump pushed for Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to become his director of national intelligence, but even Republicans said he was too partisan for the role.
Ratcliffe gained national attention for his aggressive questioning of Mueller.
"Donald Trump is not above the law. He's not. But he damn sure shouldn't be below the law," he said, scolding the former special counsel.
Here are the other members of the committee:
Democrats
Rep. Jim Himes, 4th District of Connecticut
Rep. Terri Sewell, 7th District of Alabama
Rep. Andre Carson, 7th District of Indiana
Rep. Jackie Speier, 14th District of California
Rep. Mike Quigley, 5th District of Illinois
Rep. Joaquin Castro, 20th District of Texas
Rep. Denny Heck, 10th District of Washington
Rep. Peter Welch, Vermont at-large
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, 18th District of New York
Rep. Val Demings, 10th District of Florida
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th District of Illinois
Republicans
Rep. Mike Conaway, 11th District of Texas
Rep. Mike Turner, 10th District of Ohio
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, 2nd District of Ohio
Rep. Chris Stewart, 2nd District of Utah
Rep. Elise Stefanik, 21st District of New York
Contributing: Christal Hayes and Bartholomew D. Sullivan
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Public impeachment testimony is set to begin. Here are the lawmakers to watch
New testimony ties Trump more directly to Ukraine pressure campaign .
The acting ambassador to Ukraine described a phone call in which the president checked on the status of “the investigations.”William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, told lawmakers that the phone conversation between the president and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in Kyiv was overheard by one of his aides. Afterward, Sondland told the aide that Trump cared more about investigations of former vice president Joe Biden than other issues in Ukraine, Taylor said.
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How a phone call and a request for a favor moved the nation closer to the possibility of seeing a president impeachedThose words have now prompted deployment of the ultimate political weapon, an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution as a means other than the ballot to remove a president from office. 
‘This president, he’s like a planetary object,” Adam Schiff said. “He warps time. And things that you think happened a couple weeks ago, it turns out, only happened a day or two ago.” Schiff was slumped in a chair in his Washington office, tie askew and eyebrows ruffled, as if he’d been kneading his forehead. It was a little past 5:30 p.m. on the first Friday of October, the end of a week that, Schiff thought, “has been like three years compressed into a week. 
The closed doors of the Trump impeachment investigation are swinging wide open. When the gavel strikes at the start of the House hearing Wednesday morning, America and the rest of the world will have the chance to see and hear for themselves for the first time about President Donald Trump's actions toward Ukraine and consider whether they are, in fact, impeachable offenses. It's a remarkable moment, even for a White House full of them.
The closed doors of the Trump impeachment investigation are swinging wide open. When the gavel strikes at the start of the House hearing Wednesday morning, America and the rest of the world will have the chance to see and hear for themselves for the first time about President Donald Trump's actions toward Ukraine and consider whether they are, in fact, impeachable offenses. It's a remarkable moment, even for a White House full of them. 
Democrats have called two diplomats whose testimony they see as key to making the case that the president improperly pressed Ukraine for investigations that could benefit him politically.President Trump lashed out at Democrats, contending the deck is stacked against him, hours before a historic, nationally televised impeachment hearing was set to begin Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee. 
Read: William Taylor's opening statement at impeachment hearing(Pictured) Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks on Oct. 23 in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. 
President Trump is not watching the first day of impeachment hearings on television, according to his spokeswoman.Much of Washington came to a standstill on Wednesday morning to hear the opening exchanges in a day of testimony that could decide Trump’s fate. 
President Donald Trump's re-election campaign is ramping up a Facebook ad blitz.(Pictured) Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks on Oct. 23 in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. 
The acting ambassador to Ukraine described a phone call in which the president checked on the status of “the investigations.”William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, told lawmakers that the phone conversation between the president and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in Kyiv was overheard by one of his aides. Afterward, Sondland told the aide that Trump cared more about investigations of former vice president Joe Biden than other issues in Ukraine, Taylor said. 
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