What Went Down During Marie Yovanovitch’s Testimony

A frequent commentary about the Wednesday hearings was that the two diplomats did a lot of work to be seen as fully nonpartisan. We said that was good for Democrats as their testimony wouldn’t be discredited, but that it also deprived them of blockbuster testimony. Yovanovitch seems a little less concerned about maintaining a similar nonpartisan glow. Her testimony is also less directly linked to the alleged quid pro quo, so maybe it matters less for Democrats if she is discredited. But it seems more likely that Republicans will try to discredit her. On the other hand, she also seems more likely to deliver re-playable testimony.

Sondland was an odd person to be involved in Ukraine policy, since he was the EU ambassador. But the weirdest person in this group is Rick Perry. Whatever technical explanation has been given for Rick Perry being involved, I have talked to Rick Perry. He does not strike me as the kind of person you would interject into a complicated foreign policy situation with a fairly-small country. I’m not saying Rick Perry is dumb, but the idea the U.S. would be sidelining Ukraine experts for him is very odd.

Schiff is making the case that Giuliani was no anti-corruption warrior. Schiff mentioned the example of Giuliani’s pushing to overturn a decision to deny a visa to a former Ukrainian prosecutor that was made based on his record of corruption.