WASHINGTON — The final testimony of an extraordinary week of impeachment hearings came from a former White House national security adviser who wrote the book on Vladimir Putin — literally — and a political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine who overheard a pivotal conversation between President Donald Trump and EU ambassador Gordon...
Witness: Worked With Giuliani at Trump’s ‘Express Direction’
WASHINGTON — Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators Wednesday that he worked with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine at the “express direction” of President Donald Trump and pushed for a political “quid pro quo” with Kyiv because it was what Trump wanted. “Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the...
AP FACT CHECK: Nunes Asserts a Biden Crime That Wasn’t
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans at impeachment hearings Tuesday tried to defend President Donald Trump by pushing a widely discredited claim that former Vice President Joe Biden pressed Ukraine’s government to shut down a corruption investigation of Burisma, the energy company paying Biden’s son Hunter. A look at some of the remarks in...
Top White House Aides Call Trump Call ‘Improper,’ ‘Unusual’
WASHINGTON — One top national security aide who listened to President Donald Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president called it “improper.” Another said it was “unusual.” The two testified Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reached deeper into the White House. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an Army officer at the...
Pelosi Invites Trump to Testify as New Witnesses Prepare
WASHINGTON — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of investigators in the House impeachment inquiry ahead of a week that will see several key witnesses appear publicly. Pushing back against accusations from the Republican president that the process has been stacked against him, Pelosi said...
Impeachment: Trump Overheard Demanding ‘Investigations’
WASHINGTON — For the first time a top diplomat testified Wednesday that President Donald Trump was overheard asking about “the investigations” that he wanted Ukraine to pursue that are central to the impeachment inquiry. William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, revealed the new information as the House Intelligence Committee opened...
Trump Impeachment Inquiry Heads to Live TV Coverage
Back in 1973, tens of millions of Americans tuned in to what Variety called "the hottest daytime soap opera" — the Senate Watergate hearings that eventually led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. It was a communal experience, and by some estimates, more than 80% of Americans tuned in to at least part...
AP FACT CHECK: Is Trump's 'Read the Transcript' Defense Valid?
WASHINGTON — It's been his drumbeating demand: "Read the transcript!" "Just read the transcript." "Can't we read English?" "Just read the Transcript, everything else is made up garbage." "READ THE TRANSCRIPT!" Heading into public hearings this week, people have read the transcript, and that's why President Donald Trump has an impeachment...
Congressman Costa: Quid Pro Quo Impeachable Offense
Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) says allegations of quid pro quo against President Donald Trump could be grounds for impeachment. "I think that anytime a President of the United States takes an action in which it's contrary to the bipartisan efforts of the nation, in which they are asking for something...
US Diplomat Acknowledges Ukraine Aid Tied to Investigation
WASHINGTON — "I now do recall." With that stunning reversal, diplomat Gordon Sondland handed House impeachment investigators another key piece of corroborating testimony Tuesday. He acknowledged what Democrats contend was a clear quid pro quo, pushed by President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, with Ukraine. Sondland, in...