What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings

And there with the mention of Gordon Sondland’s updated testimony, Schiff refers to a second key line of inquiry for Democrats: Did the president direct military aid be held up AND/OR did he know if members of his team, aka government staff, were relaying a message of coercion to Ukraine?

Schiff all but says obstruction of justice will be among the impeachment charges just now.

Last Thursday Democrats released three questions they said they will use to guide the public impeachment hearings. They are:

1. Did the president request that a foreign leader and government initiate investigations to benefit the president’s personal political interests in the United States, including an investigation related to the president’s political rival and potential opponent in the 2020 U.S. presidential election?
2. Did the president – directly or through agents – seek to use the power of the Office of the President and other instruments of the federal government in other ways to apply pressure on the head of state and government of Ukraine to advance the president’s personal political interests, including by leveraging an Oval Office meeting desired by the president of Ukraine or by withholding U.S. military assistance to Ukraine?
3. Did the president and his administration seek to obstruct, suppress or cover up information to conceal from the Congress and the American people evidence about the president’s actions and conduct?

And it seems as if Schiff’s staying on track in his opening statement by laying the groundwork for all three of these questions.