The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

By Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes, Zoe Sottile and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 8:00 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019
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1:57 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Hill called path to releasing the security aid "extraordinarily corrosive"

From CNN's Haley Byrd

Fiona Hill, former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, arrives on Capitol Hill for a hearing on October 11, 2019.
Fiona Hill, former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, arrives on Capitol Hill for a hearing on October 11, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, tried to argue that "in the end, it kind of all worked out,” because "the Javelins happened, the security assistance dollars happened, continued to flow” and that President Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York and the two leaders “hit it off.”

“In the end, it kind of worked like it normally does,” he said.

Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top Russia adviser, pushed back on that point of view: “Well, it depends on what you mean about working out,” she said. 

"The President and President Zelensky did, in fact, meet at the UNGA. That is correct. The military assistance appears to have been delivered, to the best of my knowledge and also to yours. But in terms of the overall U.S.-Ukrainian relationship, no, I wouldn't say that this has worked out because we're in the middle of now what is a scandal about Ukraine. So the manner in which we got to this point has been extraordinarily corrosive, the removal of our Ambassador and what we have done, which is laying open what appears to have been an effort in which a number of unsanctioned individuals, including Ukrainian American businesspeople, seem to have been involved in these efforts," she said.

1:45 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Vindman reported concerns to security officials, including his brother

From CNN's Zachary Cohen 

After a July 10 debriefing at the White House, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill reported their concerns about EU ambassador Gordon Sondland’s comments regarding Ukraine and a “deliverable” to National Security Council legal advisor John Eisenberg.

Eisenberg said he would “take a look into it,” according to the transcript. But Vindman testified that he never heard back from Eisenberg on the issue.

Hill and Vindman also discussed their concerns about the meeting with Vindman’s brother, Eugene Vindman, who is the chief ethics counsel at NSC.

Raed more:

1:36 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Rep. Jim Jordan is officially on the House Intelligence Committee

From CNN's Phil Mattingly

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has put Rep. Jim Jordan on the House Intelligence Committee as the impeachment inquiry continues into President Trump.

Rep. Rick Crawford will step aside temporarily to allow this to happen. 

At this point in time there is no plan to add other Republicans to the panel — despite requests of some Trump allies, an aide told CNN.

Why this committee matters: The House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees have conducted the depositions behind closed doors with Trump administration officials who have testified under subpoena over the objections of the White House.

But the public hearings will be conducted only by the House Intelligence Committee. Under rules passed by the House last week, both Democrats and Republicans will have 45-minute blocks to question witnesses in which staff attorneys can participate.

1:48 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

White House officials testify quid pro quo effort was coordinated with Mulvaney

From CNN's Kevin Liptak 

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney answers questions during a briefing at the White House on October 17, 2019.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney answers questions during a briefing at the White House on October 17, 2019. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Fiona Hill, the former National Security Council staffer responsible for Russia and Ukraine, told lawmakers during her testimony that it became clear during a July 10 meeting at the White House that an Oval Office visit for Ukraine’s president was contingent on him opening an investigation into President Trump’s political rivals.

Hill told lawmakers that Gordon Sondland, the US Ambassador to the European Union, said there was an agreement with acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney that “they would have a White House meeting or, you know, a Presidential meeting, if the Ukrainians started up these investigations again.”

“Ambassador Sondland, in front of the Ukrainians, as I came in, was talking about how he had an agreement with Chief of Staff Mulvaney for a meeting with the Ukrainians if they were going to go forward with investigations,” Hill said.

She said the suggestion alarmed then-national security adviser John Bolton, who “immediately stiffened” and ended the meeting.

Separately, top White House expert on Ukraine Alexander Vindman testified that Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland characterized the request for investigations by Ukraine — or a “deliverable” — as coordinated with Mulvaney, according to the transcript of his testimony released today.

Here's more from Hill's testimony:

1:22 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Vindman drafted talking points with Ukrainian official ahead of July 25 call 

From CNN's Zachary Cohen

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, testified that he drafted “talking points” ahead of President Trump’s July 25 call with his Ukrainian counterpart. He said he was also listening in on from the Situation Room.

Those talking points did not include anything about investigations into the 2016 election, Joe and Hunter Biden or Burisma, according to the transcript of Vindman’s testimony.

Vindman also said he did not know whether former national security adviser John Bolton listened in on the call but said that Bolton did have concerns about the call prior to it taking place.

1:21 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Vindman aware of "outside influencers promoting a false narrative" of Ukraine in spring 2019 

From CNN's Zachary Cohen 

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the US Capitol on November 7, 2019.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the US Capitol on November 7, 2019.

Top White House Ukraine expert Alexander Vindman told congressional investigators that he “became aware of outside influencers promoting a false narrative of Ukraine inconsistent with the consensus views of the entire interagency” that undermined US cooperation with Ukraine in spring of 2019, according to a transcript of his testimony released Friday. 

He also said that then-Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was advancing a narrative undermining the former Ambassador in Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch “for the purpose of self-preservation for himself and the President at the time, President Poroshenko.” 

Vindman said he learned of Rudy Giuliani’s participation in this “narrative” in April 2019. 

State Department official George Kent testified that Giuliani met privately with Lutsenko to “throw mud” at Yovanovitch and amplified this narrative as part of his “campaign of slander” against the former ambassador.

1:19 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Hill said she was "shocked" by call transcripts, including Trump's "pretty blatant" push for investigations

From CNN's Alex Rogers

Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top Russia adviser, testified that she was “shocked” to read the rough transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, particularly the comments regarding former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Trump’s “pretty blatant” push for politically-motivated investigations. 

“Particularly on Ambassador Yovanovitch, and very saddened because, again, Ambassador Yovanovitch is a great American, and I don’t think any American citizen should be disparaged by their President,” Hill said. “So that made me very sad and very shocked and, yeah, not too happy.”

Hill said “the other issue” — Trump pushing Zelensky for investigations regarding Joe and Hunter Biden and the 2016 election — "it was pretty blatant.”

“I found that I couldn’t really explain that away with an alternate explanation,” Hill said. “So that’s what I mean about being, you know, quite shocked.”

She added: “I sat in an awful lot of calls, and I have not seen anything like this,” she added. “And I was there for two and a half years. So I was just shocked.”

1:23 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Hill testified that Bolton said not to talk to Giuliani about Ukraine 

From CNN's Mike Warren 

Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top Russia adviser, told lawmakers she had personally told special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker before July 10 what national security adviser John Bolton had decreed.

Bolton said, according to Hill, that Volker and others should not be talking to Rudy Giuliani about Ukraine. It was her understanding that Volker was “trying to fix” the growing “negative perceptions” about Ukraine and the new Ukrainian leader's administration by working with Giuliani.

“But I expressed to him that I was concerned that there were business dealings, nefarious business dealings, underway,” Hill said.

Hill testified that Giuliani’s public Ukraine activities had drawn the attention of administration officials, and that many simply watched it unfold on television. She described learning about Giuliani’s planned May trip to Ukraine after he said on TV he was going. “And there was, you know, kind of, quite a bit of consternation of the party of the State Department,” she said.

She said the TV in Bolton's office was always on, usually tuned to Fox. “And often when I was in the office, Giuliani would be on the television, and you know, Ambassador Bolton would put on the sound to hear what he was saying,” Hill said.

1:06 p.m. ET, November 8, 2019

Vindman: EU ambassador said Ukraine requests were coordinated with acting White House chief of staff

From CNN's Zachary Cohen 

Top White House expert on Ukraine Alexander Vindman told congressional lawmakers that EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland characterized the request for investigations by Ukraine — or a “deliverable” — as coordinated with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to the transcript of his testimony released today.

“He [Sondland] just said that he had a conversation with Mr. Mulvaney, and this is what was required in order to get a meeting,” Vindman said, adding that he opposed this approach because it was “inappropriate” and “had nothing to do with national security.”

The National Security Council official said there was “no ambiguity” that there was a demand Ukraine investigate the Bidens in exchange for a White House meeting.

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