First public hearing in the Trump impeachment inquiry

By Meg Wagner, Veronica Rocha and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 10:25 p.m. ET, November 13, 2019
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8:47 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

You'll hear a lot from these two lawyers today

Win McNamee/Getty Images
Win McNamee/Getty Images

The underpaid and overworked lawyers on Capitol Hill will have their turn in the spotlight on today.

Daniel Goldman and Steve Castor will publicly question key witnesses in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump. 

Some background: For more than a month, Goldman and Castor led the questioning of witnesses in the private impeachment proceedings, gathering information into whether Trump abused his power in pressuring Ukraine to launch two politically beneficial probes, while using a coveted White House meeting and nearly $400 million in military aid as leverage. 

8:46 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Here's how this morning will play out

Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The first open hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump kicks off in less than two hours.

The House Intelligence Committee will hear from Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent.

Taylor currently serves as the Chargé D'affaires for the US State Department in Ukraine. Kent serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at the US Department of State.

 Here's the schedule we're expecting:

  • 9 a.m. ET: Members of the media will be allowed into the hearing room after a security sweep.
  • 9:45 a.m. ET: Public attendees will be allowed into the hearing room
  • 10 a.m. ET: The House Intelligence Committee hearing is gaveled in
  • 10:05 a.m. ET: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and ranking member Devin Nunes will make opening statements. After that, the witnesses will be sworn in.
7:55 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Meanwhile, Mike Pence is getting out of DC and heading to California

From CNN's Betsy Klein 

Less than an hour before the public phase of the House impeachment inquiry begins, Vice President Mike Pence is getting out of town, continuing a pattern of staying on the road and above the fray.

Here's what his day looks like: Pence is expected to be wheels-up, heading for California at 9:25 a.m. ET. He's traveling on a two-day West Coast swing with second lady Karen Pence.

Pence will attend a pair of closed press fundraisers today in Huntington Beach and Monterey and will stay overnight in the Bay Area. Tomorrow, Pence will tour and deliver remarks at NASA’s Ames Research Center, returning to Washington in the evening.

Remember: The challenge for Pence throughout the impeachment inquiry, as it's always been in the administration, is balancing the need to appear loyal to Trump with staying clear of the President's countless controversies.

The plan to protect him, according to sources close to the vice president, has been to get him on the road. Pence has traveled frequently in the weeks since the House launched its investigation, from touting the administration's US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Pence, who is expected have access to cable television aboard Air Force Two, will be in the air as hearings on Capitol Hill kick off, and is expected to land at 2:35 p.m. ET — well after Erdogan’s visit gets underway. 

7:45 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Here's a look inside the room where today's impeachment inquiry hearing will happen

Journalists and camera crews report from inside the hearing room where the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first public impeachment hearing (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Journalists and camera crews report from inside the hearing room where the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first public impeachment hearing (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Cameras and lights are set up in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill ahead of this morning's impeachment hearing — the first that will be public.

The room is the largest in the House — it's so big that for two years it held the entire House of Representatives.

"So big that in 1949 and 1950 when they were renovating the house chamber, this is what the house used to meet for two full years. It's that big," CNN's John Berman said this morning.

The hearing is set to kick off at 10 a.m. ET.

7:18 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Staff lawyers to take star role in first public hearings

From CNN's Alex Rogers

Daniel Goldman, attorney and director of investigations with the House Intelligence Committee, is seen after a closed-door hearing at the US Capitol earlier this month.
Daniel Goldman, attorney and director of investigations with the House Intelligence Committee, is seen after a closed-door hearing at the US Capitol earlier this month.

The underpaid and overworked lawyers on Capitol Hill will have their turn in the spotlight on Wednesday, as Daniel Goldman and Steve Castor emerge from their temporary home in the basement of the Capitol to publicly question for the first time key witnesses in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

For over a month, Goldman and Castor led the questioning of witnesses in the private impeachment proceedings, gathering information into whether Trump abused his power in pressuring Ukraine to launch two politically beneficial probes, while using a coveted White House meeting and nearly $400 million in military aid as leverage.

Read more on this story here.

6:17 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

What Kent and Taylor told lawmakers in their closed-door depositions

Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat to Ukraine, arrives at a closed session on Oct. 22 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.
Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat to Ukraine, arrives at a closed session on Oct. 22 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Today's hearing won't be the first time George Kent, deputy assistant Secretary of State, and Bill Taylor, the charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Kiev, come face-to-face with lawmakers.

The diplomats met with the committees conducting the impeachment inquiry behind closed doors last month.

Here's what they told lawmakers:

About Taylor's testimony: His testimony was among the most significant so far in the investigation. His opening statement alone was considered an explosive document, in which Taylor corroborated many of the claims made by the intelligence community's whistleblower, whose complaint and subsequent inspector general's report prompted the inquiry. Taylor also provided witness testimony to the events around the temporary withholding of US military aid to Ukraine and the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

About Kent's testimony: He told lawmakers that Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had a "campaign of lies" against the former Ukraine ambassador Yovanovitch, according to a transcript of his comments released last week. Kent's deposition provided new insight into how Volker and Sondland worked with Giuliani on Ukraine, as well as the reactions inside the State Department to Giuliani's efforts that Kent and others say ran counter to US foreign policy.

5:29 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

House Republicans lay out central defenses ahead of public hearings

From CNN's Phil Mattingly, Manu Raju and Veronica Stracqualursi

The Republican staff on the three panels involved in the impeachment investigation have drafted a detailed memo, circulated to GOP members of all three committees and obtained by CNN, outlining their defense of President Trump.

Using witness testimony from the closed-door depositions, as well as public reporting, the memo attempts to undercut several key arguments made by Democrats outlining the alleged culpability of Trump in his actions toward Ukraine, particularly in his decision to place a hold on US security assistance to the country in exchange for investigations into his political rival.

The memo marks the most centralized and detailed effort to lay out the Republican counter-argument to impeachment that has been crafted and will serve as the baseline for members to utilize in their defense of Trump as the impeachment probe moves into public hearings today.

The four central defenses, which are detailed over the course of the memo, are as follows:

  • The July 25 call summary "shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure."
  • Ukrainian "President (Volodymyr) Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call."
  • "The Ukrainian government was not aware of the hold on U.S. assistance" during the July 25 call.
  • The security assistance hold was lifted on September 11.

4:41 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Here's how the first public impeachment hearing will play out today

From CNN's Manu Raju

US diplomat Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent will testify together today in the first public hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

An official working on the impeachment inquiry shared a schedule for today's hearing with CNN:

  • 9 a.m. ET – Members of the media are allowed into the hearing room following a security sweep.
  • 9:45 a.m. ET – Public attendees are allowed into the hearing room.
  • 10 a.m. ET – The House Intelligence Committee hearing is gaveled in.
  • 10:05 a.m. ET – The chairman and ranking member give opening statements, followed by swearing-in of witnesses and their opening statements.

All times are approximate and will depend on any procedural matters.

Following opening statements, questions will begin: Chairman Adam Schiff and ranking member Devin Nunes (or their designated committee employees) will get up to 45 minutes each, at the discretion of the chairman. They are the only two authorized to ask questions during this round.

Additional extended questioning rounds, at the discretion of the chairman, can be added.

Following this extended questioning, there will be 5-minute rounds of questioning alternating between Republican and Democratic members.

The hearing is expected to conclude between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET, when the witnesses are dismissed by the chairman.

4:00 a.m. ET, November 13, 2019

Catch up: Here are the key developments in Trump impeachment inquiry

Here are the latest developments in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

  • Details about today's public hearing: Diplomats George Kent and Bill Taylor will testify today in the first public hearing in the impeachment inquiry. The hearing, which will start at about 10 a.m. ET, will be held in the largest room in the House of Representatives. Chairman Adam Schiff and ranking member Devin Nunes (or their designated committee employees) will get up to 45 minutes each. They are the only two authorized to ask questions during this round. Following this extended questioning, there will be 5-minute rounds of questioning alternating between Republican and Democratic members.
  • The Republican plan: Republicans on the panels involved in the inquiry say they are planning to build the case in their line of questioning that Taylor didn’t have a “clear understanding” of what Trump wanted -- and that his testimony that Trump wanted “everything” withheld until Ukraine announced political investigations is based on a “game of telephone,” according to a source involved in the planning. Similarly, they plan to make that also a key focus of their questioning of Kent — that he didn’t have direct knowledge of Trump’s motivations.
  • Schiff's warning: Schiff issued a warning about the handling of whistleblowers, saying members “shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House." He added that: "The Committee has a long, proud, and bipartisan history of protecting whistleblowers -- including from efforts to threaten, intimidate, retaliate against, or undermine the confidentiality of whistleblowers."
  • More witnesses: In a letter to his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, Schiff said "additional witnesses will be announced this week."
  • Trump's teases transcript: In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump reiterated a pledge to release the first -- and what he calls the "more important" -- transcript of a phone call with the Ukrainian President before the end of this week. 
  • Mick Mulvaney drops plans to sue: The acting White House chief of staff no longer plans to sue over his House subpoena in the impeachment probe. Instead, his attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday that he's planning to obey the White House and Justice Department's direction for him not to testify.