What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings

With about seven minutes left in the majority’s question period, Goldman is moving on to the now-infamous July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky.

Taylor is being careful not to infer. Has said things in his testimony like, “I don’t know. I don’t know what Ambassador Bolton had in mind.” And earlier said, “What I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people.”

One thing I think the testimony has done well so far is to emphasize the power differential between Ukraine and the U.S. — and by extension, Zelensky and Trump. Zelensky was a new political leader eagerly looking for the legitimacy that a meeting with Trump would give him. His country was at war with Russia and desperately in need of security assistance. This context helps clarify why the Ukrainians couldn’t just shrug off the pressure from Trump’s allies, despite advice from many people not to get involved in U.S. politics — they were really in a precarious situation.