On Tuesday Vindman and Pence aid Jennifer Williams testified in open hearings. As did Volker and Tim Morrison.
On Wednesday Sondland testified and said that Trump has established a quid pro quo arrangement with Ukraine. This was seen as surprising, even blockbuster testimony, because Sondland’s opening statement blew up Trump’s defenses against the quid pro quo. Wittes even argues that Sondland admitted that Trump committed bribery.
On Thursday Fiona Hill testified, in what may be the last day of open hearings before an impeachment vote. Hill warned against politicians who “promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests,” meaning the idea that Ukraine was involved in 2016 election interference. She also said that Trump involved US foreign policy in a “domestic political errand.”
It appears that the House will not get testimony from Giuliani, Pence, Pompeo and Bolton, leaving some gaps in the record. Even Trump-critical Republican House members like Will Hurd are saying their is not enough evidence to justify impeachment.
The New York Times reports that the Ukraine conspiracy theory that Trump is still pushing about the 2016 election was developed and propagated by Russian intelligence.
Emails reveal that Pompeo was in communication with Giulliani in March during the time when they were trying to oust Ambassador Yanakovitch and spread the Ukraine 2016 conspiracy theory.
Lindsay Graham asked the State Department to hand over documents that will help him investigate Biden and Ukraine.
In this piece, Frum attempts to analyze the GOP defense and mindset for impeachment: “The accusations against Trump are direct and intelligible to any open mind. The defense of Trump resembles the Star Wars saga: a universe of storytelling, in multiple parts, much of it comprehensible only if you venture beyond the visual franchise to a huge appendix of fan fiction and Wikipedia pages.
“The House Republicans’ underlying argument is too jumbled and confusing even to be agreed with. It can only be absorbed. It is to be repeated, not to be analyzed. It is not even really an argument at all. It is a hypnotic litany, a creed of faith—a faith all the more compelling for defying sense and experience.
“At Fox News, on talk radio, and on the web, American conservatives have built a communications system that effectively consolidates in-group identity. Much of the time, the talkers and listeners do not themselves understand what they are saying. They use key words and phrases as gang signs: badges of identity that are recognized without necessarily being understood.”
In other news:
Trump intervened on a Navy decision to demote a SEAL who was accused and acquitted of war crimes. The Secretary of the Navy is so far refusing to accept Trump’s twitter statement as a order.
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Trump’s Job Approval: 41.9%