An open-house impeachment hearing of Donald Trump took place on Wednesday. The President, however, did not watch the proceedings on account of being 'too busy', for which he received staunch backing from Republican lawmakers.
Two top US diplomats delivered gripping testimony Wednesday about Donald Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden, as the impeachment inquiry into the president shifted into a new phase of high-stakes televised hearings.
William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified before the House Intelligence Committee, during which he revealed about Trump's efforts to pressure Kyiv.
Freshman House Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken Trump critic, said the new Taylor comment added "a layer of proximity" for the President. "(Trump) himself was making and partaking in some of these phone calls... And that really adds a much more disturbing degree of the involvement that he had in using the powers of government to create politically motivated investigations," she said.
Kent said President Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani had no basis for allegations against Biden and his son Hunter whatsoever.
Kent also said the former vice president's anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine while he was in office were important, though he acknowledged that the reputation of a Ukrainian company whose board Hunter Biden served on was mixed.
In a new disclosure, Taylor said that since testifying behind closed doors, he had heard from a member of his staff who was present for a July 26 call between Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, and the president, the daily said.
Trump while talking about why he did not watch the proceedings said that this is a sham and shouldn't be allowed. It was a situation that was caused by people that shouldn't have allowed it to happen. He made the statement to reporters at the White House during a joint press conference with the visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Asked about the new allegations, Trump replied: "First time I've heard it." Sondland "did speak to me for a brief moment, and I said no quid pro quo under any circumstances".
Trump also said, "Are you talking about the witch hunt? Is that what you mean? Is that what you're talking about? I hear it's a joke, he said when a reporter asked about his general reaction to the impeachment hearing".
He also said that meeting with President Erdogan was much more important He added he would want to find out who the whistleblower is.
If the House impeaches Trump, it would then go to trial in the Senate, where Republicans enjoy a 53-47 majority.
Republicans by focusing on Hunter Biden's role on the Burisma board sought to undercut the witnesses' testimony. They pointed out that he was paid $50,000 a month and questioned his qualifications.
The White House alleged that the Democrats in Congress have been selling their far-left base on impeachment since Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential race.
After nearly 3 years of coming up empty including $32 million of taxpayer money spent on the Russia collusion hoax Democrat leaders knew they needed to do something to appease their party's left fringe.
The next hearing is scheduled for Friday, featuring the US ambassador to Ukraine who Kent said was recalled by Trump after being subjected to a "smear campaign" by Giuliani.
The whistleblower, Trump said, gave a lot of incorrect information, including that of his call with the President of Ukraine in July, which he asserted was a perfect call and highly appropriate.
"I want to find out why the IG — why would he have presented that, when, in fact, all he had to do was check the call itself and he would have seen it," Trump said. He further said that the statement was analysed by everyone and the call he made with the President of Ukraine was a perfect one, he said.
— With PTI inputs
