Welcome back to another day of impeachment hearings. Tuesday morning brings us the testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, and Jennifer Williams, a Mike Pence aide preemptively attacked by Donald Trump as a “Never Trumper.” Both Vindman and Williams were listening in on the July 25 call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig for dirt on his political opponents if he wanted U.S. help.
Vindman raised the alarm internally about the call’s inappropriateness, while Williams told House investigators that she found the call “unusual and inappropriate.”
Ongoing coverage can be found here.
Good question:
Is Nunes going to make it *three* straight hearings where he leads off with a conspiracy theory that the Democrats are desperately seeking nude pictures of the president?— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) November 19, 2019
Is Nunes going to make it *three* straight hearings where he leads off with a conspiracy theory that the Democrats are desperately seeking nude pictures of the president?
Schiff opens the hearing with a summary of previous testimony, both the public testimony last week, and the previous testimony from Williams and Vindman.
Nunes is, of course, talking about the Russia investigation again. Because he’s got nothing.
Nunes now moving on to spend his time on attacking the whistleblower and duplicating the conspiracy theory claims that Trump attempted to press on Ukraine.
Nunes heavily citing John Soloman, whose stenography for Rudy Giuliani has been uniformly demonstrated to be groundless.
CNN has about had it with—note the flourish at the end.
Be aware: the ranking Republican on House intel @DevinNunes is repeating a baseless conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election. This is false and - notably - a Kremlin talking point.— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) November 19, 2019
Be aware: the ranking Republican on House intel @DevinNunes is repeating a baseless conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election. This is false and - notably - a Kremlin talking point.
Williams full statement can be found here.
Williams says she learned of the hold on Ukrainian assistance was placed on hold on June 3rd, and that the OMB stated that the hold was to determine if the funds were “aligned with White House policy.”
These funds were designated by Congress in a bill that Trump had already signed. And they were cleared by the Pentagon on May 23.
Vindman appears particularly uncomfortable in this hearing. The threats toward his family and disdain toward his service could be, understandably, wearing on him.
.@DevinNunes promoted John Solomon's "reporting" this morning. One of Solomon's sources was former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko.From Lt. Col. Vindman's opening statement:#Impeachment #ImpeachmentHearings pic.twitter.com/CaP7yjnmT0— Fed Up Republican (@FedUpGOPer) November 19, 2019
.@DevinNunes promoted John Solomon's "reporting" this morning. One of Solomon's sources was former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko.From Lt. Col. Vindman's opening statement:#Impeachment #ImpeachmentHearings pic.twitter.com/CaP7yjnmT0
Vindman wraps up his opening statement telling his dad âÂÂdo not worry, I will be fine for telling the truthâ— Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) November 19, 2019
Vindman wraps up his opening statement telling his dad âÂÂdo not worry, I will be fine for telling the truthâÂÂ
As Vindman was giving his opening statement, Donald Trump Jr was tweeting out an attack on Vindman claiming that he put his own “agenda” above the nation.
As Williams begins to testify, her attorney steps in to say that the White House considers the call between September Pence and Zelensky classified, limiting what Williams can say about the call.
Amen:
I didn't think the impeachment hearings would be a showcase of how the children of immigrants have always made this country better BUT HERE WE ARE— Kaligayahan sa Mundo (@maligayangtao) November 19, 2019
I didn't think the impeachment hearings would be a showcase of how the children of immigrants have always made this country better BUT HERE WE ARE
Vindman says he spoke directly to Zelensky during the U.S. delegation visit to Ukraine and advised the Ukrainian president to “stay out of U.S. domestic politics.”
Vindman would clearly rather be on a battlefield rather than in front of every camera in the nation.
Both Williams and Vindman agree that Burisma was mentioned in the call, but is not in the “transcript.”
Both Williams and Vindman agree that they are aware of no evidence for the conspiracy theories Trump mentioned on his call to Zelensky.
Williams testifies that the call was “political in nature” and different from other calls she had heard.
Vindman testifies that the Ukrainian embassy was aware of the hold on Ukrainian funds before it became public and asked him about it. Says that he does not recall exactly what he said in reply, says he believes he may have said “I’m not aware of it.”