Although House investigators spent the day interviewing Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, most attention today revolved around Trump "personal lawyer" Rudy Giuliani. A brief roundup of today's impeachment-related news:
• Team Trump efforts to contain the scandal by blocking witnesses from providing testimony to the House appear to be rapidly collapsing after U.S. national security official Fiona Hill detailed her responses and the responses of then-national security adviser John Bolton to the White House campaign to pressure the Ukrainian government into "investigating" Joe Biden and his son Hunter. During 10 hours of testimony yesterday, Hill testified that Bolton called Giuliani a "hand grenade who's going to blow everybody up" and insisted "I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up."
• While Trump Cabinet members and other top officials (many of them implicated in the Ukrainian scandal) are adhering to Trump's demands that they refuse congressional demands for documents and testimony, career public servants are stepping forward to give their own testimony, despite threats from the administration.
• Giuliani's ties to the now-arrested Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are now under intense scrutiny. Giuliani was paid half a million dollars by a Parnas company, "Fraud Guarantee,” for nebulous services. Parnas and Fruman stand accused of illegally funneling foreign money to Republican campaigns in an influence-buying effort.
• Through his own lawyer and via the press, Trump "personal lawyer" Rudy Giuliani told Congress that he would not comply with House subpoenas resulting from exposure of Trump and Giuliani's actions toward Ukraine. "If they enforce it then we will see what happens,” he said.
• Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent gave private testimony today to House impeachment investigators. While little information has so far been released, Kent reportedly worked to protect U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from the Giuliani-led smear campaign designed to justify removing her from her post, and warned others as early as last March that Giuliani was orchestrating a "disinformation" campaign against perceived Trump enemies.
• On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who was elevated to his current position after a $1 million donation to Trump's inaugural fund, is scheduled to be deposed by House investigators. Sondland has emerged as a central player in a relentless campaign to demand a Biden investigation from the Ukrainian government—a violation of federal election laws. Sondland reportedly had planned to testify that he was unaware of the connection to the Bidens while making his Ukrainian requests; that defense is looking implausible after Hill's apparently detailed testimony on his actions.
• The Trump administration continues to refuse to comply with House subpoenas for documents and testimony related to the Ukrainian scheme. The House-mandated timelines for complying with multiple of those subpoenas expire in the next few days, including deadlines set for Vice President Mike Pence, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought.
• Offering a glimpse into the future of Trump dead-enderism, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney claimed that Turkey's invasion of northern Syria was caused by the Democratic-led impeachment investigation. We should pause here to note that Rep. Liz Cheney is, in addition to being a reliable Trump loyalist, not very bright.
• On the Senate side, Sen. Lindsey Graham and the ever-concerned Sen. Susan Collins appear to be struggling with their own anti-impeachment talking points.