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.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said President Trump likely won't testify before the House Intelligence Committee, despite Mr. Trump's indication earlier this week that we would be willing to do so. Bondi and former Treasury Department official Tony Sayegh recently joined the White House communications team to handle impeachment messaging.
"Do I think it's likely he's going to testify? Probably not," Bondi said in an interview with "CBS This Morning." "This is a sham court."
Officials Testify That Trump Requests on Ukraine Call Were Inappropriate
The new accounts came as the House Intelligence Committee opened a packed week of testimony, with nine witnesses scheduled to answer questions before the public before the House decamps for Thanksgiving. Democrats used Tuesday’s back-to-back hearings to move the focus of their growing case into the White House and back to the July phone call they see as the centerpiece of an abuse of power by Mr. Trump.Taking their cues from the White House, Republicans moved aggressively to try to undercut the day’s lead witness, Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the National Security Council’s Ukraine expert.
Bondi's interview comes as the House Intelligence Committee conducts several open hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry.
"What have we seen so far? Absolutely nothing. The witnesses we saw yesterday said nothing to hurt the president," Bondi said about previous hearings. Bondi also spoke about U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, who is testifying before the committee on Wednesday morning.
Ambassador Kurt Volker, left, former special envoy to Ukraine, testifies during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump's efforts to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and ranking member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., right, listen as Ambassador Kurt Volker (not pictured) testifies before the House Intelligence Committee, on Nov. 19.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council (not pictured), as they testify on Nov. 19.
'Fierce, focused and fearless': Fiona Hill emerges as a principled voice in impeachment inquiry
Responding to the question of whether she is a "Never Trumper," Fiona Hill called it a "puzzling term" for nonpartisan officials.Dr. Fiona Hill, a former National Security Council official, delivered punchy lines of testimony and asserted her position as a witness in the inquiry who would present facts exactly as she knew them to be, persistent in the face of accusations of partisanship.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council, as they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 19.
Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council speaks as former US Special Envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, looks on during the House Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 19.
Ambassador Kurt Volker, left, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council are sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 19.
Analysis: The impeachment case against Donald J. Trump, as it stands
After two weeks of public hearings, here's what we know that can be traced directly to Trump.Whether Trump explicitly signed off on quid pro quos is something we don’t know, though, and Sondland said he hadn’t heard Trump do that. Some people argue that’s irrelevant. But as the impeachment inquiry enters a new phase, it’s worth taking stock of what we do and don’t know about Trump’s personal actions, as we hurtle toward what appears to be the third impeachment of a U.S. president.
Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, leaves the Longworth building after testifying during the House Intelligence Committee hearing, into President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to tie US aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 19.
Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, uses a poster of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as he questions National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (not pictured) on Nov. 19.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, questions Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (not pictured) on Nov. 19.
People in the audience listen as Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (not pictured) testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 19.
National Security Council Ukraine expert Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman testifies during the House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 19.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., gives his opening remarks as Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, testify on Nov. 19.
A quote is displayed on a monitor as Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (not pictured) testify on Nov. 19
A Senate Trial Could Put Trump’s Use of Aggressive Defense Tactics to Their Biggest Test
Over four decades in public life, President Trump has sought to bend business, real-estate and political rivals to his will. Facts that cut against his position have been declared false. Witnesses who have questioned his motives have been declared dishonest. Critics of his behavior are part of a corrupt, shadowy effort aiming to damage him. And, as he likes to put it, his own actions are always, to one degree or another, “perfect.
Ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Devin Nunes talks with minority legal counsel Steve Castor during the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence public hearing on the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald J. Trump, on Nov. 19.
Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, are sworn in before they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 15.
What’s next in impeachment: Judiciary Committee up next?
WASHINGTON (AP) — After two weeks of public hearings, Democrats could soon turn the impeachment process over to the House Judiciary Committee. At some point in the coming weeks, the House intelligence panel will submit a report to the Judiciary panel, and then Democrats will consider drafting articles of impeachment on President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and the administration’s attempts to block the investigation. The articles could cover matters beyond Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine to investigate Democrats, including special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but no decisions have been made.
Some members of the audience stand and applaud after former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee in Washington, on Nov. 15.
Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, is sworn in to testify before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Nov. 15.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., arrives for the hearing, on Nov. 15.
Trump lashes out at 'D.C. Wolves' after McGahn ruling, claims he would 'love' for staff to testify
"The D.C. Wolves and Fake News Media are reading far too much into people being forced by Courts to testify before Congress," President Trump tweeted."The D.C. Wolves and Fake News Media are reading far too much into people being forced by Courts to testify before Congress," Trump wrote. "I am fighting for future Presidents and the Office of the President. Other than that, I would actually like people to testify.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talks to reporters on the morning after the first public hearing in the impeachment probe of President Donald Trump on his effort to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. Pelosi says the president's actions in the impeachment inquiry amount to "bribery."
Democratic Counsel Daniel Goldman (C), alongside Chairman Adam Schiff (R), Democrat of California, asks questions of witnesses U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent during the first public hearings held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Nov. 13.
Ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., talks to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, right, as Steve Castor, Republican staff attorney for the House Oversight Committee, center, listens during the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.
Attorney Daniel Goldman questions Ambassador Bill Taylor, charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, during a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.
Top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor, center, listens as career Foreign Service officer George Kent, testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.
Protestors hold a signs outside Longworth House Office Building, where a top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor, and career Foreign Service officer George Kent, are testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.
George Kent (2nd R), the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs and Bill Taylor (C), the top diplomat in the U.S. embassy in Ukraine arrive to testify before the House Intelligence Committee for the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Nov. 13.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George P. Kent (L) and top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William B. Taylor Jr. are sworn in before testifying for the first public impeachment hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 13.
William Taylor, the top diplomat in the U.S. embassy in Ukraine arrives to testify before the House Intelligence Committee for the first public impeachment hearing on Nov. 13.
George Kent (C), the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, arrives to testify before the House Intelligence Committee for the first public impeachment hearing on Nov. 13.
Protesters outside on 5th Avenue with signs that say "Impeachment is PATRIOTIC" written in the American Flag while NYPD stand by after the 45th President Donald J. Trump gave his opening ceremony of the New York City 100th annual Veterans Day Parade and wreath-laying ceremony on Nov. 11.
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.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks with Democratic Counsel Daniel Goldman (L) and other staffers, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing, in Washington, on Nov. 15.
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.
Trump Keeps Losing in Court. But His Legal Strategy Is Winning Anyway.
Critics of President Trump cheered on Monday when a federal judge ruled that the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II must testify to Congress — and scathingly labeled “fiction” the administration’s arguments that top White House aides are immune from congressional subpoenas. Indeed, the outcome was the latest in a string of lower-court losses for Mr. Trump as he defends his stonewalling of lawmakers’ oversight and the impeachment investigation. Other fights are playing out in the courts over Mr. Trump’s financial records and grand-jury evidence in the Russia investigation.
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.
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Sondland is expected to explain his shifting testimony, as well as conversations he had with the president about the campaign to get Ukraine to open investigations into a company that had employed former Vice President Joe Biden's son.
Previous witnesses have said that Sondland boasted about his close relationship with the president, and his ability to call Mr. Trump directly.
"We're going to see what Gordon Sondland has to say," Bondi said. "The president knows him. The president does not know him very well."
Trump Keeps Losing in Court. But His Legal Strategy Is Winning Anyway. .
Critics of President Trump cheered on Monday when a federal judge ruled that the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II must testify to Congress — and scathingly labeled “fiction” the administration’s arguments that top White House aides are immune from congressional subpoenas. Indeed, the outcome was the latest in a string of lower-court losses for Mr. Trump as he defends his stonewalling of lawmakers’ oversight and the impeachment investigation. Other fights are playing out in the courts over Mr. Trump’s financial records and grand-jury evidence in the Russia investigation.
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