What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings

Well, Nathaniel, the Maguire hearing was before the Oct. 31 vote to formalize the impeachment process. So that’s an important distinction. But also at that point, the Democrats hadn’t conducted their own investigation and weren’t really trying to present evidence against Trump. That’s what’s happening now — these hearings are the public version of testimony that’s been happening behind closed doors for several weeks.

Something that’s confusing me (and I can’t be alone in that, so I’ll ask it publicly): Everyone is billing this as the start of the “public hearing phase” of the impeachment investigation. But we’ve had a couple public hearings on this topic before — like when Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified in late September. What gives?

I’m watching for the balance between emphasis on legal/constitutional concepts like bribery and quid pro quo, which seem more likely to make a straightforward case for impeachment, and ideas like “rule of law,” which are perhaps more politically resonant and related to citizens’ broader concerns about the administration. (For more about this, check out this piece on the framing of the impeachment.)