The latest news on the impeachment inquiry
- Democrats in the House are preparing to conduct the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry, with three witnesses set to testify Wednesday and Friday.
- On Monday, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney abandoned efforts to join a lawsuit over congressional subpoenas, signaling he would open a separate case.
- A top Pentagon official told lawmakers the Defense Department was left in the dark about a decision to delay military aid to Ukraine.
Washington — House Democrats are ramping up the impeachment inquiry with the first public hearings scheduled for later this week, raising the stakes of their investigation into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the House Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing with Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, a high-level State Department official. Both raised concerns over the administration’s attempts to pressure Ukraine into investigating supposed Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election and a company that had employed Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joe Biden’s son.
On Friday, the committee will hear from Marie Yovanovitch, a longtime U.S. diplomat who was ousted as ambassador to Ukraine earlier this year as a result of a campaign to discredit her, led by Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
The committees leading the impeachment inquiry on Monday released transcripts of closed-door hearings with three witnesses, including Laura Cooper, a Pentagon official who oversees a U.S. military aid program to Ukraine. That program was delayed for months over the summer, allegedly as leverage to pressure the Ukrainian government to announce investigations. Cooper said the funds “were held without explanation,” and officials “began to raise concerns about how this could be done in a legal fashion.”
Cooper: Pentagon left in the dark over delay in Ukraine aid
6:00 a.m.: Cooper said the first indication she had that the release of the aid had been delayed came in the middle of July after a meeting on Ukraine policy chaired by a National Security Council director.
Cooper sent her deputy, and said a readout of the July 18 meeting indicated “there was discussion in that session about … OMB saying that they were holding the Congressional Notification related to FMF,” referring to Foreign Military Financing, the aid program administered by the State Department. OMB refers to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which signs off on notifications to Congress about aid from the State Department program.
She said her staff tried to clarify whether that delay applied to the Pentagon program as well, and received no guidance.
“So at that point, we were concerned, because this notion that there was guidance that was broadly applicable to Ukraine security assistance was a source of concern, but the only specific was related to that Congressional Notification for FMF,” Cooper said. — Stefan Becket
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Mulvaney abandons effort to join lawsuit
5:30 a.m.: Mulvaney withdrew his request to join a federal lawsuit over whether White House officials should comply with congressional subpoenas for testimony in the impeachment inquiry, indicating he plans to file his own separate case.
On Saturday, Mulvaney asked to join the suit filed by Charles Kupperman, a former deputy national security adviser under John Bolton. Kupperman asked the court to decide whether he should comply with a congressional subpoena for testimony or follow a White House order not to appear before the committees leading the impeachment inquiry. Kupperman shares an attorney with Bolton, who has declined to testify voluntarily but has not been subpoenaed.
Mulvaney was issued a subpoena to appear for a deposition last week, which he ignored. His attorney filed a motion asking to join the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over the weekend, and Judge Richard Leon held a telephone conference regarding Mulvaney’s motion on Monday. — Stefan Becket and Rob Legare
Read more here.
