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As it happenedended

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Trump news: Second staffer claims to have heard previously undisclosed call, as Pelosi says president admitted committing bribery

Trump petitions the Supreme Court to shield his tax returns from federal prosecutors as he hosts another rally in the Louisiana governor's race

New York

,Chris Riotta,Alex Woodward

Thursday 14 November 2019 20:12 GMT

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The key moments from Trump's impeachment hearing

Donald Trump has said he “doesn’t remember” a compromising call he allegedly had with Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, which top diplomat Bill Taylor raised at the House impeachment inquiry on Wednesday, saying a member of his staff had overheard Mr Trump asking Mr Sondland about “the investigations”.

House investigators heard from Mr Taylor and State Department official George Kent yesterday, with both men describing the administration’s “irregular” dealings with Ukraine as the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his allies pushed for an anti-corruption probe into domestic political rival Joe Biden.

Republican counsel Steve Castor was ridiculed for his part in proceedings.

While the president entertained Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House and said he was not following the drama unfold, a federal appeals court in DC cleared the path for Congress to pursue Mr Trump’s tax records, setting up a potential Supreme Court battle.

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

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1/26Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Donald Trump

Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why.

EPA

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

The Whistleblower

Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

The Second Whistleblower

The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Rudy Giuliani

Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trump’s personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the president’s enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a “shadow” foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trump’s behalf and has called himself a “hero”.

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Volodymyr Zelensky

The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the “favour” he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin.

AFP/Getty

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Mike Pence

The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had “one or two” phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trump’s actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow.

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Rick Perry

Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didn’t even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Joe Biden

The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Biden’s son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant.

Reuters

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Hunter Biden

Joe Biden’s son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Biden’s lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong.

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

William Barr

The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trump’s preoccupations with the Biden’s and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a “cover-up of a cover-up”.

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Mike Pompeo

The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president.

AFP via Getty

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Nancy Pelosi

The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: “The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”

Getty

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Adam Schiff

Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a “parody” of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a “four Pinocchios” rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement.

Reuters

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman

Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts.

Reuters

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

William Taylor

The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff – later identified as diplomat David Holmes – overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about “investigations” the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trump’s opponents, saying: “It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support."

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

George Kent

A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, of leading a “campaign of lies” against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats.

Getty Images

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Marie Yovanovitch

One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack “very intimidating”. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: “She’s going to go through some things.” Yovanovitch said she was “shocked, appalled and devastated” by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation.

REUTERS

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Alexander Vindman

A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trump’s 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Jennifer Williams

A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it “unusual” because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Kurt Volker

The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraine’s reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Tim Morrison

An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Gordon Sondland

In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: “Was there a quid pro quo? Yes,” said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the president’s political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a “great American” a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him.

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Laura Cooper

A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August – undermining a Republican argument that there can’t have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didn’t know that aid was being withheld.

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

David Hale

The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: “I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work.”

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Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

Fiona Hill

Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was “being involved in a domestic political errand”. She said: “I did say to him, ‘Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up’. And here we are.”

AP

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal

David Holmes

The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line – because his voice was so “loud and distinctive” and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear – asking about the “investigations” and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate.

REUTERS

On Thursday, the president petitioned the Supreme Court to shield his tax returns from federal prosecutors.

The news arrived as he boarded Air Force One for yet another rally in Louisiana to boost support for a Republican running against the state's Democratic governor.

The upcoming legal battle will likely test the limits of Mr Trump's presidential powers.

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Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 10:10

President 'doesn't remember' Sondland call raised at impeachment hearing

Donald Trump has said he “doesn’t remember” a compromising call allegedly made by Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, that acting Ukraine ambassador Bill Taylor raised at the House impeachment inquiry on Wednesday, saying a member of his staff overheard Mr Trump asking about “the investigations”.

Trump gave the response during a joint press conference with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the East Room with the House hearings still ongoing in the Longworth House Office Building.

This was the moment Taylor dropped his bombshell revelation about Sondland's call to Trump from a Kiev restaurant, which he said had been brought to his attention since his earlier appearance before the panel behind closed-doors.

After the marathon hearing, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff stressed the significance of the development.

Here's our report.

Trump's Ukraine call with ambassador a 'stunning breach of security', former officials say

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 10:20

Senior diplomats spell out Ukraine irregularities in dramatic day on Capitol Hill

The testimony House investigators heard yesterday from Taylor and bowtied State Department official George Kent saw both men describing the administration’s “irregular” dealings with the Eastern European nation as the president’s personally lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his allies pushed for an anti-corruption probe into Mr Trump’s domestic political rival Joe Biden.

Here are some of the key exchanges with Taylor and Kent, which saw them make the case that Trump cared more about embarrasing Biden than the lives of the Ukrainians whom the American military aid approved by Congress was intended to save.

This moment - in which Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, especially drafted in for the occasion, was brutally owned by Democrat Peter Welch of Vermont - was truly special.

Taylor and Kent gently making a fool of Republican counsel Steve Castor, having already batted away Trumpland conspiracy theories from raking Republican Devin Nunes, was also a total joy.

Here's Andrew Buncombe with six key takeaways from a dramatic day.

Six key moments from Trump impeachment hearings

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 10:35

'History in the making'

There were long queues to get into yesterday's hearing - with drag queen Pissi Myles among the throng, brandishing a selfie stick - as well as a press melee inside that left Texas Republican Louie Gohmert grumbling that he couldn't even see Taylor and Kent's faces over the bundle of photographers and journalists.

Our man Andrew Feinberg was there to soak up the chaos.

Politics junkies get their fix as live impeachment hearings begin

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 10:50

Trump 'too busy' to follow impeachment hearing, blasts out 30 retweets denouncing proceedings

Trump himself insisted he was not following proceedings yesterday - despite retweeting some 30 attacks from friendly GOP members, his social media director Dan Scavino and the White House denouncing the Democratic-led inquiry.

"It's a witch hunt, it's a hoax, I'm too busy to watch it," Trump told reporters during his presser with Erdogan. "There's nothing there. I see they're using lawyers that are television lawyers. They took some guys off television. You know, I'm not surprised to see it because Schiff can't do his own questions."

The strategy from his inner circle appeared to be to dismiss the inquiry as "boring".

Here's Clark Mindock on the GOP reaction.

Republican impeachment strategy relies on conspiracy theories - and calling the whole thing boring

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 11:05

George Conway slams Republicans: 'If Barack Obama had done this, they’d be out for blood and they’d be right'

On TV, Kellyanne Conway's anti-Trump husband George was invited on to MSNBC as a pundit to introduce proceedings, making a rare media appearance to criticise the president.

He did not disappoint, slamming Trump personally as well as Republican hypocrisy and desperation in seeking to defend him.

"If he’d just shut up about it and not tweeted 'witch hunt' 600 times there wouldn’t have been a whole volume two of the Mueller investigation," he told Nicolle Wallace.

Kellyanne Conway’s lawyer husband tears into Trump over impeachment hearings

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 11:20

Court clears Congress to go after eight years of Trump tax returns

Trump must obey a House Oversight and Reform Committee subponea and release eight years' worth of tax returns, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has ruled.

Judges on Wednesday again denied the president's bid to stop his accounting firm Mazars LLP from releasing the financial records to House Democrats. Jay Sekulow, Trump's lawyer, said the president would appeal and take the fight to the US Supreme Court.

The eight-three vote brings the opposition closer to shedding light on Trump's business interests and how he built his fortune.

Here's Tom Embury-Dennis's report.

Trump's tax returns must be released to Congress, appeals court rules

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 11:35

Trump insists he and Erdogan are 'very good friends' during White House visit

The president was working hard yesterday to insist relations between the US and Turkey are friendly a month on from his having to hastily agree a ceasefire after Ankara reacted to his decision to pull American troops out of northern Syria by bombing their Kurdish allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an entirely forseeable outcome given that the Turks are well known to consider the SDF a terror cause.

Trump even went so far as to claim Erdogan "has a great relationship with the Kurds", which is one way of putting it I suppose.

Extraordinarily, he also said the US would be "keeping", rather than safeguarding, Syria's oil assets, which would be a war crime.

Negar Mortazavi has this report.

Trump hosts Erdogan at White House despite criticism

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 11:50

Erdogan reveals he gave back Trump's 'tough guy' letter

The Turkish president also revealed yesterday that he gave back Trump's letter of 9 October in which the latter implored him not to be a "tough guy" or a "fool" and make enemies for himself on the world stage by pursuing the Kurds.

He was previously reported to have thrown the message in the bin.

Trump did not respond to the declaration.

Here's Alex Woodward's report.

Erdogan says he handed back 'tough guy' letter to Trump as two leaders at odds over Kurds

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 12:05

President up early to resume attack on impeachment inquiry

Trump is out of bed and quoting Texas Republican John Ratcliffe on the impeachment inquiry.

Ratcliffe was forced to withdraw as Trump's pick to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence in July after it became clear he would endure a rocky nomination hearing due to his chronic lack of qualifications for the role.

Joe Sommerlad14 November 2019 12:20

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