What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings
Who Is George Kent And Why Is He Testifying?
George Kent, a high-level State Department official who oversees U.S. policy for Ukraine, is also on the docket today. And like Taylor, Kent didn’t have direct communications with Trump about Ukraine. But he has already delivered closed-door testimony about many of the same conversations that Taylor has described, including that in order for a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky to happen, Trump “wanted nothing less than President Zelensky to go to microphone and say investigations, Biden and Clinton.” So Taylor and Kent may be testifying together in part because their accounts reinforce each other.
Kent also had harsh words for Giuliani in his testimony, saying that Giuliani had embarked on a “campaign of lies” against Yovanovitch with the goal of painting her as disloyal to Trump. He’s also testified about Giuliani’s sway with Trump, stating that another official told him that Giuliani “had influence on the president in terms of the way the president thought of Ukraine.”
In his closed-door deposition, Kent did drop a breadcrumb that Republicans might seize on, though. He told investigators that back in 2015, he tried to warn the office of then-Vice President Biden that Hunter Biden’s business ties in Ukraine could create the impression of a conflict of interest, but was shut down. That’s a thread that seems likely to resurface when he’s questioned by Republicans today.
Republicans are already trying to slow down Democrats’ momentum with a number of procedural objections and requests. This is likely to be something we see a lot of in the coming week!
Some parliamentary inquiry from Stefanik brings up a little scuffle. Schiff says that members will only be stopped in their questioning if the line of questioning seems to be leading toward a revelation of the whistleblower’s identity. I sense this will be a theme!