|
Post by Admin on Nov 12, 2019 22:04:49 GMT
Amb. William Taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state George Kent testify in an open impeachment hearing before the House Intelligence Committee.
When the House Intelligence Committee launches its first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, it’s likely that the first hours might matter more than anything else.
Throughout the day, the hearings will draw across-the-board coverage on broadcast networks, streaming platforms and cable news channels, not to mention the river of comments and clips that will proliferate on Twitter and Facebook.
Given the social media quick reaction to recent hearings featuring Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, initial impressions make a big difference.
But beyond the snap conclusions of the punditry is the fact that many viewers likely won’t have time during the workday to devote hours to watching the testimony of the first two witnesses: William Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state and the State Department’s lead career official focused on that country. That’s a reason why journalist Bill Moyers wants PBS to rerun the testimony in primetime, as they did the Watergate hearings nearly half a century ago.
The first hour of the hearings are “really important. It is like the first paragraph of a story of what comes after ‘once upon a time’ in a book. The first few scenes of a movie,” says Martin Kaplan, professor at USC Annenberg and director of the Norman Lear Center. “We have short attention spans, so if the first moments are frittered away, that is a problem.”
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2019 17:40:18 GMT
The House is holding the first public hearings of the impeachment probe, with two key diplomatic officials testifying before the Intelligence Committee.
Bill Taylor and George Kent, two top diplomats, told the committees about concerns they raised about efforts to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit President Trump.
It’s not exactly news these days when Donald Trump tells a lie. As of August, he had made more than 12,000 false or misleading claims over the course of his presidency. Even so, Trump began one of the most critical weeks of his presidency — the House will hold its first public impeachment hearings starting Wednesday — with a whopper that ranks among the most unpersuasive he’s ever pushed.
On Twitter, Trump suggested that House Intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) released doctored transcripts of impeachment depositions conducted behind closed doors — an explosive claim belied by the fact that not a single Republican or witness who has been in the room for them has said anything of the sort.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2019 21:49:57 GMT
Ambassador William Taylor outlined his concerns with the Trump administrations handling of foreign aid to Ukraine in his opening statement in the first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry. A career diplomat who served as ambassador to Ukraine under former president George W. Bush, Bill Taylor was rushed back to Kyiv this spring to take over the embassy after U.S. President Donald Trump had Marie Yovanovitch recalled. Even before he went, Mr. Taylor was apparently aware that Rudy Giuliani, the President’s personal lawyer, was on a mission in the country to dig up dirt on former vice-president Joe Biden, one of Mr. Trump’s potential opponents in the 2020 election. “Can anyone hope to succeed with the Giuliani-Biden issue swirling for the next 18 months?” Mr. Taylor asked Kurt Volker, the U.S. point man on Ukraine’s fight against Russian-backed insurgents, in a text message in May. Over the summer, Mr. Taylor repeatedly expressed alarm that Mr. Trump was trying to ransom nearly US$400-million in military aid to pressure Kyiv into investigating Mr. Biden and his family. “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” Mr. Taylor texted Gordon Sondland, the hotel magnate Mr. Trump appointed to the European Union after Mr. Sondland donated to Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2019 22:35:36 GMT
A top State Department official says he never saw any effort by U.S. officials to shield from scrutiny a Ukrainian natural gas company where Hunter Biden sat on the board.
George Kent is testifying Wednesday in the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Investigators are looking into allegations that Trump asked the new Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on the son of Joe Biden, a Democratic political rival.
Hunter Biden sat on the board of the Ukrainian gas company called Burisma. Kent said he raised concerns in 2015 that his status could create the perception of a conflict of interest.
But Kent said he never saw any attempt to shield Burisma from scrutiny because of Biden’s connection to the company.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 14, 2019 7:53:45 GMT
First public hearing in impeachment inquiry into President Trump, record-breaking cold blast grips over 200 million across the country, and test reveals toxic content found in vapor from illicit THC cartridges.
Watch “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt” at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT (or check your local listings).
1:33 Key Witness Testify In First Public Impeachment Hearing 2:34 Taylor: Trump Asked About 'Investigations' On Newly-Revealed Call 3:10 Diplomats Tie Trump To Campaign To Pressure Ukraine 5:38 Republicans Blast Impeachment Hearings And Defend Trump 7:07 Impeachment Witnesses Deny Being 'Never Trumpers' 7:22 Second Public Impeachment Hearings Set For Friday 7:51 Trump Slams Impeachment Hearing As 'Joke' And 'Sham' 9:06 Trump Welcomes Turkey's Leader For Controversial Visit 9:26 White House Reacts To First Public Impeachment Hearing 9:52 Key Witnesses Testify In First Public Impeachment Hearing
|
|