Two Weeks of Public Testimony in Trump Impeachment Hearings Wraps Up
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Two weeks of public testimony wrapped today in what could be the final day of Intelligence Committee public hearings.
It kicked off with former National Security Council Russia Expert Fiona Hill making it clear that she was not there to play games.
"I have no interest in advancing the outcome of your inquiry in any particular direction, except toward the truth," Hill said.
She also raised serious concerns about President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani's involvement in Ukraine foreign policy.
She mentioned her former boss, National Security Advisor John Bolton's description, saying "Rudy Giuliani was a hand grenade that was going to blow everybody up."
Hill called Giuliani's smear campaign against Ambassador Yovanovitch shameful.
"He was clearly pushing forward issues and ideas that would probably come back to haunt us and in fact, I think that's where we are today," Hill added.
And she recounted a meeting with Ukrainian officials where EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland laid out conditions for a White House meeting after getting directives from Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
Ambassador Sondland said, "We have an agreement basically that there will be a meeting if specific investigations are put underway.
That prompted Bolton to advise her to take a message to lawyers.
"Tell Eisenberg that Ambassador Bolton told me that I am not part of whatever drug deal that Mulvaney and Sondland are cooking up," Hill said.
Ukraine diplomat David Holmes also gave his account of a phone conversation he overheard between President Trump and Ambassador Sondland.
"When the president came on, he sort of winced and held the phone away from his ear," Holmes said.
Holmes confirmed that he did hear President Trump ask Ambassador Sondland if is he going to do the investigation.
Holmes added that Sondland told him that Trump doesn't really care about Ukraine – just, big stuff.
"I asked him what kind of big stuff we have going on here with a war with Russia, and he said 'no big stuff like the Biden investigation Giuliani is pushing,"' Holmes added.
President Trump cast doubt on Holmes' testimony tweeting, "Never have I been watching a person making a call and been able to hear or understand a conversation."
I have been watching people making phone calls my entire life. My hearing is, and has been, great. Never have I been watching a person making a call, which was not on speakerphone, and been able to hear or understand a conversation. I’ve even tried, but to no avail. Try it live!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2019
Democrats likely have the votes to impeach the president, but do they have the support of the public?
After nine witnesses testified publicly, the question remains how this is playing out in the court of public opinion.
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