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Kari Paul in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Democrats condemn Trump's 'witness intimidation' after Marie Yovanovitch testimony – as it happened

Live political reporting continues on Monday’s blog:

Thanks for reading! Kari Paul here, signing off for the night. Below are some of the top stories of the last few hours.

  • California and 22 other states will sue the Environmental Protection Agency over the Trump administration’s efforts to block tougher tailpipe emissions standards.
  • The execution of Rodney Reed has been stayed by court of appeals, just days before it was set to be carried out on 20 November.
  • Twitter announced Friday its new ban on political advertising will also limit micro-targeting, further putting pressure on Facebook.
  • Prison guards who were tasked with guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death have been offered a plea deal, the Associated Press reports, but have declined the offer.
  • Donald Trump intervened in three military justice cases on Friday, issuing pardons in at least two of them.
  • More “damning” details emerged on Friday from the deposition of David Holmes, the Ukraine embassy staffer who reportedly overheard Trump asking Gordon Sondland about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

Breaking news, Rudy Giuliani “f---s everything up” every time he gets involved, Sondland said, according to the Holmes deposition.

Barack Obama and Georgia politician Stacey Abrams spoke to a group of Democratic Donors at the Democracy Alliance meeting on Friday.

Obama sought to assuage fears that the Democratic primary field is too crowded, noting that he had a “very robust” primary as well.

“We have a field of very accomplished, very serious and passionate and smart people who have a history of public service”, he said.

The former president also advised Democrats to stay “rooted in reality” according to journalists tweeting from the event, noting that “Democrats are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain left leaning Twitter feeds, or the activist wing of our party”.

Updated

More details emerged on Friday from the deposition of David Holmes, the Ukraine embassy staffer who reportedly overheard Trump asking Gordon Sondland about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

The transcripts, which are being called “damning”, include Holmes saying he overheard Sondland tell Trump that Ukrainian president Zelensky will do “anything you ask him to”.

Also a quote that may have you questioning what stage of the simulation we are now in:

Read a PDF of the full transcript here.

Trump issues war crime pardons to three ex-military members

Donald Trump intervened in three military justice cases on Friday, issuing pardons in at least two of them.

Some Pentagon officials have expressed concerns that the president’s actions will undermine the military justice system, according to the Washington Post. From the report:

The service members involved were notified by Trump over the phone, said the U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, who faced a murder trial scheduled to begin next year, took the phone call and was informed he would receive a full pardon, said his lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse.

In additon to Golsteyn, the other cases involve former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State militant and former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 for ordering his soldiers to open fire on three men in Afghanistan.

Golsteyn had gone from being decorated with a Silver Star for his service in Afghanistan to facing years of investigation and a court-martial in the 2010 death of a suspected bomb maker in Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post.

Prison guards who were tasked with guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death have been offered a plea deal, the Associated Press reports, but have declined the offer.

The fact that the guards have been offered a plea deal signals the Justice Department is considering criminal charges in connection with the wealthy financier’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August. The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide.

From the AP:

The guards on Epstein’s unit are suspected of failing to check on him every half hour, as required, and of fabricating log entries to show they had. As part of the proposed plea deal, prosecutors wanted the guards to admit they falsified the prison records, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Updated

Twitter announced Friday its new ban on political advertising will also limit micro-targeting, further putting pressure on Facebook.

The new rules, which go into effect on 22 November, come after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said n 30 October the company would ban all political advertising due to a belief that “political message reach should be earned, not bought”.

Meanwhile, Facebook has faced significant criticism over its political ads policies in recent months, including an aggressive questioning of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in Congress by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

Read Julia Carrie Wong’s full report here.

The execution of Rodney Reed has been stayed by court of appeals, just days before it was set to be carried out on 20 November.

The Texas man, who is African American, was convicted by an all-white jury in 1998 of the murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. He claims he was wrongly convicted and his family has spent years trying to get the case overturned.

His execution is now stayed “pending further order” of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the latest legislator to speak out against the epidemic of vaping among young people in the US. On Friday she tweeted she is urging the FDA to support stronger actions to prevent kids from getting addicted.

“The dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes by our young people is threatening the progress we have made to reduce overall tobacco use”, she said. “Teachers have talked with me about the growing epidemic of vaping in high schools and middle schools in Maine”.

California and 22 other states will sue the Environmental Protection Agency over the Trump administration’s efforts to block tougher tailpipe emissions standards, the Hill reports.

In September, Trump announced he would revoke the waiver California has relied on to force automakers to produce more environmentally-friendly cars for decades.

California attorney general Xavier Becerra said he and others would challenge the change, joining together in a lawsuit to argue argue that EPA lacks the authority to revoke the waiver, calling it “unprecedented in the multi-decade history of waiver requests”.

“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: California will not back down when it comes to protecting our people, our health, and our environment from preventable pollution”, Becerra said. “California’s Clean Car Standards are achievable. They not only work, many other states around the country have chosen to adopt them. The Trump Administration, on the other hand, has chosen to side with polluters”.

Hello, Kari Paul on the West Coast taking over the blog for the next few hours. Stay tuned for more news.

Impeachment hearing summary

That’s it from me after a very historic day (and week) in Washington. My west coast colleague Kari Paul will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, testified at the second public impeachment hearing. The longtime diplomat’s account of being ousted from her post amid a smear campaign prompted a disparaging tweet from Trump, which Democrats said amounted to witness intimidation. (The president and his allies denied that charge.)
  • Yovanovitch told the House intelligence committee that the smear campaign against her, as well as state department leaders’ failure to defend her, has had a “chilling effect” on the diplomatic community.
  • David Holmes, the Ukraine embassy staffer who reportedly overheard Trump asking Gordon Sondland about “the investigations” in Ukraine, arrived for his closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry.
  • Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating whether Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, sought to profit off his connections to Ukrainian energy projects.
  • In non-impeachment news: Roger Stone, a former adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, was found guilty on all seven counts in his criminal trial.

Kari will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated

Representative Mark Meadows, one of Trump’s closest congressional allies, pushed back against Democratic accusations that the president engaged in witness intimidation by smearing the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch.

The North Carolina Republican, who spoke to reporters after the hearing even though he is not a member of the House intelligence committee, called Trump’s attack on the former US ambassador to Ukraine “a characterization of her resume.”

It’s important to remember that Yovanovitch has been consistently praised by her fellow diplomats and has 33 years of experience in foreign service.

Addressing reporters after the conclusion of the impeachment hearing with Maria Yovanovitch, Adam Schiff applauded the longtime diplomat as an “incredible public servant.”

The committee chairman also argued Yovanovitch’s testimony proved the former US ambassador to Ukraine was pushed out in part because of her efforts to root out Ukrainian corruption, despite claims from Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani.

Asked about Trump’s tweets smearing Yovanovitch’s reputation, Schiff said they fit a “pattern” of the president attempting to obstruct investigations into his administration.

“This is a part of a pattern to intimidate witnesses,” Schiff told reporters. “It’s also a part of pattern of obstruction.”

Some people who watched Maria Yovanovitch’s testimony from the public seating section of the hearing room actually stood to applaud the longtime diplomat as she exited.

Impeachment hearing with Yovanovitch concludes

After more than six hours, the House intelligence committee’s second public hearing in the impeachment inquiry has concluded.

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, used his closing statement to mark the end of “today’s show trial.” The California Republican added, “This is embarrassing.”

Chairman Adam Schiff applauded the career of today’s witness, Maria Yovanovitch, in his closing statement. The California Democrat also argued that the ouster of Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, marked only the beginning of Trump allies’ corrupt acts in Ukraine.

Republicans on the committee attempted to object to Schiff’s comments as he was gaveling the hearing to an end, but some of those gathered in the hearing room drowned out their complaints with apparent applause for Yovanovitch.

Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator who chose not to seek reelection after repeated criticisms from Trump, just sent a tweet expressing gratitude for foreign service officers amid the president’s attacks on Marie Yovanovitch.

Updated

Holmes arrives for closed-door deposition

David Holmes, a staffer at the US embassy in Kyiv, has arrived on Capitol Hill to sit for a closed-door interview with the House intelligence committee after the conclusion of the impeachment hearing with Maria Yovanovitch.

Holmes is reportedly one of the embassy staffers who overheard Trump asking about “the investigations” in Ukraine during a phone call with Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU.

Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, testified on Wednesday that a staffer informed him of that call after the diplomat spoke to impeachment investigators behind closed doors.

Trump denies he engaged in witness intimidation

Speaking to reporters at the White House after delivering remarks on healthcare, Trump denied that his tweet smearing the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch amounted to witness intimidation.

“I don’t think so at all,” Trump said of the witness intimidation allegations. “I have the right to speak; I have freedom of speech, just like other people do.” He called the impeachment inquiry “a disgrace” and “an embarrassment to our nation.”

The president claimed Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, was more guilty of witness tampering. “Tampering is when a guy like shifty Schiff doesn’t let us have lawyers,” Trump said, referring to longstanding congressional procedure not to allow agency lawyers to be present for staffers’ depositions.

Updated

Representative Jim Jordan will be the last Republican to question Maria Yovanovitch, and then four more of the committee’s Democratic members will be given the chance to speak.

Chairman Adam Schiff and ranking member Devin Nunes will be allowed to deliver closing statements before the witness will be dismissed.

The House intelligence committee managed to keep their five-minute recess in the impeachment hearing to about 10 minutes, so that’s an improvement from Wednesday.

Maria Yovanovitch and the committee members have returned, and Republican representative Jim Jordan, one of Trump’s closest allies, has started his five minutes of questioning.

Adam Schiff has called for a five-minute recess in the impeachment hearing, which will turn into a twenty-minute break if Wednesday’s proceedings are any indication.

Despite Trump’s attack on Maria Yovanovitch, Republicans on the House intelligence committee have largely gone out of their way to applaud the decades of public service by the longtime diplomat.

Trump is currently speaking about healthcare at the White House, but most television networks, including Fox News, are sticking with live coverage of the impeachment hearing.

The president was also speaking at the White House as the @realdDonaldTrump Twitter account was simultaneously resharing messages from Republicans defending him against the impeachment inquiry.

Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat of Illinois, mocked his Republican colleagues for suggesting Maria Yovanovitch’s career had not suffered from her removal as US ambassador to Ukraine because she is now teaching at Georgetown University.

“It’s like a Hallmark movie! You ended up at Georgetown!” Quigley said sarcastically, prompting laughter. Yovanovitch told the committee that Georgetown is a “wonderful place” but acknowledged she would have preferred to spend more time in her role at the Ukrainian embassy.

“It not the end of a Hallmark movie,” Quigley said. “It’s the end of a really bad reality-TV show ... brought to you by someone who knows a lot about that.”

Yovanovitch says the smear campaign against her affecting state department

Taking questions moment ago from Democratic representative Terri Sewell, Maria Yovanovitch said that the smear campaign against her seems to have had a “chilling effect not only on the embassy in Kyiv but throughout the state department.”

The longtime diplomat also wondered why Trump or his allies would have felt it necessary to smear her name in recalling her. “There’s a question as to why the kind of campaign to get me out of Ukraine happened because all the president has to do is say he wants a different ambassador.”

Yovanovitch added: “In my line of work ... all we have is our reputation, and so this has been a very painful period.”

GOP congressman to Yovanovitch: 'Not on my time, you're done'

Representative Mike Turner, a Republican of Ohio, attempted to cut off Maria Yovanovitch as the longtime diplomat was trying to answer his questions about the Trump administration’s Ukraine policy.

Yovanovitch was attempting to offer more context to her answer about Gordon Sondland’s unusual portfolio as US ambassador to the EU, and chairman Adam Schiff was encouraging Turner to allow the former ambassador the opportunity to speak.

Indicating his diminishing time, Turner pointed to Yovanovitch and said, “Not on my time, you’re done.” The longtime diplomat raised her eyebrows in response.

When given the chance to elaborate, Yovanovitch said, “It is unusual to name the US Ambassador to the EU to be responsible for all aspects of Ukraine.”

Yovanovitch denies she is a 'never Trumper'

Asked by Democratic representative Terri Sewell whether she was a “never Trumper,” Maria Yovanovitch said she was not and noted her decades of foreign service experience working for both Republican and Democratic presidents.

The longtime diplomat added that she believed the smear campaign against her could have a “chilling effect” on morale at the state department.

White House denies Trump's tweet was witness intimidation

The White House has just issued a statement denying that Trump’s tweet smearing the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch as she testified in the impeachment inquiry amounted to witness intimidation.

“The tweet was not witness intimidation, it was simply the President’s opinion, which he is entitled to,” said White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

She went on to slam the inquiry as a whole: “There is less due process in this hearing than any such event in the history of our country. It’s a true disgrace.”

The hearing has moved on to rounds of five-minute questioning from each member of the House intelligence committee, and Devin Nunes yielded to Elise Stefanik (which is allowed during this portion of the hearing).

Stefanik, the only Republican woman on the House intelligence committee, used her time to resuscitate corruption allegations against the Bidens, which have been thoroughly debunked.

Maria Yovanovitch just delivered a memorable quote in response to Republican counsel Steve Castor’s line of questioning that will likely be replayed many times on cable news.

Castro was dubiously trying to argue that a senior Ukrainian official’s Twitter criticisms of Trump indicated that the country was “out to get him.”

“Sometimes that happens on social media,” Yovanovitch replied, prompting laughter from those gathered in the hearing room.

Updated

Steny Hoyer, the Democratic House majority leader, called on “every member of Congress” to criticize Trump for his “witness intimidation” after the president smeared the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch as the longtime diplomat testified in the impeachment hearing.

Giuliani under investigation for potential ties to Ukrainian energy projects

As Maria Yovanovitch continues her testimony at the public impeachment hearing, a report has emerged that federal prosecutors are probing Rudy Giulaini’s ties to Ukrainian energy projects.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether Rudy Giuliani stood to personally profit from a Ukrainian natural-gas business pushed by two associates who also aided his efforts there to launch investigations that could benefit President Trump, people familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Giuliani’s associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, pitched their new company, and plans for a Poland-to-Ukraine pipeline carrying U.S. natural gas, in meetings with Ukrainian officials and energy executives this year, saying the project had the support of the Trump administration, according to people briefed on the meetings. In many of the same meetings, the two men also pushed for assistance on investigations into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and alleged interference by Ukraine in the 2016 U.S. election, some of the people said.

If prosecutors find that Giuliani did attempt to personally profit off Ukrainian energy interests, it would be particularly ironic given that the president’s personal lawyer has trumpeted claims that Hunter Biden’s involvement with an energy company was indicative of corruption.

A staffer in House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office shared a tweet outlining the procedures approved by the House for public impeachment hearings, noting that every Republican on the intelligence committee received it.

The staffer called Devin Nunes’ illegitimate attempt to yield time to another Republican committee member a “pure, disingenuous stunt.”

Pelosi: 'Witness intimidation is a crime'

Asked about Trump’s tweet disparaging Maria Yovanovitch as the longtime diplomat testified at the impeachment hearing, Nancy Pelosi said she had not yet seen the tweet but noted that “witness intimidation is a crime.”

Nancy Pelosi speaks during a media briefing on Capitol Hill.
Nancy Pelosi speaks during a media briefing on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

The House speaker also mocked the president when asked if the tweet was appropriate. “Appropriate and president in the same sentence? Come on. Why would we start making that judgment now?” Pelosi said.

Republicans on the intelligence committee began their questioning of Maria Yovanovitch by attempting to violate the House resolution outlining procedures in the impeachment inquiry.

According to the resolution, only the ranking member or the minority counsel may speak for the initial 45 minutes of Republican questioning. The ranking member, Devin Nunes, instead tried to yield to representative Elise Stefanik, the only Republican woman on the panel -- marking a clear violation of the resolution.

Yovanovitch hearing resumes

The second public impeachment hearing, featuring testimony from former US ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovanovitch, has now resumed.

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, and the GOP counsel will now be allowed to pose questions to the longtime diplomat.

But the hour-long recess to allow committee members to vote may be beneficial to Democrats’ arguments in the impeachment inquiry.

Trump blames Stone conviction on 'double standard'

Trump has reacted to the conviction of his former associate Roger Stone, blaming the jury’s guilty verdict on a “double standard.”

The president argued some of his political enemies, including Hillary Clinton and special counsel Robert Mueller, were much more worthy of jail time than Stone.

Stone conviction could reveal more of Mueller's report

Now that Roger Stone’s trial has concluded, sections of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report related to the former Trump associate’s actions during the 2016 campaign may be unredacted.

Roger Stone, who previously served as an adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, was facing seven charges and was found guilty on all of them.

The AP has more:

Stone was convicted Friday. He was charged in a seven-count indictment that alleged he lied to lawmakers about WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses and obstructed a House intelligence committee probe.

His trial highlighted how Trump campaign associates were eager to gather information about emails hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton that were released by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

Prosecutors say Stone lied to Congress about his conversations about WikiLeaks with New York radio host Randy Credico and conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.

He’s also accused of trying to intimidate Credico and threatening to take his dog.

Roger Stone found guilty on all counts

Former Trump associate Roger Stone has been found guilty on all counts, including lying to the same House committee currently holding impeachment hearings.

Stone becomes the latest member of the president’s circle to be convicted -- joining the likes of Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn.

Congressman predicts witness tampering to be included in articles of impeachment

Representative Justin Amash, a former Republican who left the party due to his criticisms of Trump, predicted that witness tampering would be included in the articles of impeachment after the president sent a disparaging tweet about Maria Yovanovitch as she testified.

House Republicans criticized Democrats’ questioning of Maria Yovanovitch, with one congressman claiming Adam Schiff and the Democratic counsel were trying to make the longtime diplomat “cry for the cameras” about her removal as US ambassador to Ukraine.

Another of Trump’s congressional allies dismissed allegations that the president engaged in witness intimidation as a “Democrat narrative” and said he respected Yovanovitch in her “previous position and certainly in her nice job at Georgetown right now.”

Yovanovitch is currently teaching at Georgetown University after Trump recalled the diplomat from Kyiv early, a decision that she testified had “shocked” and “devastated” her.

Trump defends state department vacancies

Despite the White House’s claim that the president would not be tuning in, Trump has just sent another tweet reacting to today’s impeachment hearing, defending the many vacancies at the state department.

In her opening statement, Maria Yovanovitch warned that the state department’s many vacancies were jeopardizing America’s reputation on the world stage.

“Moreover, the attacks are leading to a crisis in the State Department as the policy process is visibly unravelling, leadership vacancies go unfilled, and senior and midlevel officers ponder an uncertain future and head for the doors,” the longtime diplomat said.

“The crisis has moved from the impact on individuals to an impact on the institution. The State Department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage. This is not a time to undercut our diplomats.”

Democrats say they will consider Trump's smear for articles of impeachment

Representative Eric Swalwell, one of the Democratic members of the House intelligence committee, said that Trump’s attack on Maria Yovanovitch “will be considered” for one of the articles of impeachment.

One of Swalwell’s fellow Democrats on the panel, Andre Carson, similarly said the committee would “look into” whether Trump engaged in witness intimidation.

Updated

Asked about Trump’s tweet smearing the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch, Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, said, “I don’t comment on committee business.”

This is the same Devin Nunes that was forced to recuse himself from the panel’s Russia investigation in 2017 after he told reporters that Trump transition officials had been caught up in American spy agencies’ surveillance of foreign officials.

That announcement prompted an ethics investigation over concerns that Nunes “may have made unauthorized disclosures of classified information.” He was later cleared of wrongdoing.

Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican member of the House intelligence committee who has criticized Adam Schiff’s handling of the impeachment hearings, voiced disapproval of Trump’s tweet smearing Maria Yovanovitch’s reputation as the longtime diplomat testified.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris weighed in on Trump’s tweet smearing Maria Yovanovitch’s reputation as the longtime diplomat testified, accusing the president of witness intimidation.

Fox News anchors described the testimony of Maria Yovanovitch as a “turning point” in the impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Anchor Bret Baier predicted that Trump’s tweet smearing Yovanovitch’s reputation as the longtime diplomat testified would lead to a new article of impeachment against the president.

Host Chris Wallace insisted it was impossible for any viewer of the hearing not to be affected by Yovanovitch’s testimony.

Chairman Adam Schiff called for a brief recess in the impeachment hearing to allow House intelligence committee members to cast votes.

Republicans present in the hearing room to hear the testimony of Maria Yovanovitch seemed to imply they thought the recess was a strategic move on Schiff’s part to pause before the GOP members of the committee can question the longtime diplomat.

That must be a first. Maria Yovanovitch is testifying about Trump and, with a quiet day on his schedule, the president seems to be listening. He responded with a tweet that began: “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad.”

Blaming her for the conflict in Somalia appears a stretch, even for him.

Chairman Adam Schiff interrupted the hearing to point out the tweet. “As we sit here, the president is attacking you on Twitter,” he said, asking the former ambassador to respond.

Looking bemused, Yovanovitch said, “I don’t think I have such powers”, adding that she and her colleagues made things better, not worse.

Schiff rejoined: “The president is attacking you in real time... Some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously.”

Such a moment was probably inevitable in the reality TV-Twitter presidency.

Updated

Yovanovitch calls Trump's disparaging tweet 'intimidating'

After reading Trump’s tweet attacking the reputation of Maria Yovanovitch, Adam Schiff asked the longtime diplomat whether she thought the tweet was meant to intimidate her as she testified at the impeachment hearing.

Yovanovitch responded, “I can’t speak to what the president is trying to do, but I think the effect is to be intimidating.”

Schiff ominously replied, “I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously.”

Updated

Yovanovitch defends herself against Trump's smear

Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, has just read Trump’s tweet disparaging Maria Yovanovitch as the longtime diplomat testifies in the impeachment hearing.

Reacting to Trump’s claim that “everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,” Yovanovitch joked, “I don’t think I have such powers.”

Yovanovitch went on to assert that, through their work, she and her fellow diplomats had “demonstrably made things better, both for the US and for the countries I’ve served in.”

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch delivered a stinging rebuke to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

She described a “crisis” in the state department “as the policy process is visibly unravelling, leadership vacancies go unfilled, and senior and midlevel officers ponder an uncertain future and head for the doors”.

Yovanovitch added: “The state department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage. This is not a time to undercut our diplomats.”

Such sentiments have been aired frequently during the tenures of both Rex Tillerson and Pompeo, but never on such a prominent stage for all the world to hear.

It looks like the Democrats on the House intelligence committee intend to incorporate Trump’s disparaging tweet about Maria Yovanovitch into today’s impeachment hearing.

Ironically, Trump’s tweet came shortly after the White House issued a statement claiming the president would not watch the hearing beyond the opening statement of Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the intelligence committee.

Yovanovitch said she was 'devastated' by Trump's Ukraine call

Maria Yovanovitch said she was “shocked” and “devastated” when she read the White House memo on Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, in which he called the longtime diplomat “bad news.”

“A person who saw me actually reading the transcript said the color drained from my face,” Yovanovitch told impeachment investigators.

Asked about Trump’s comment to Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Yovanovitch was “going to go through some things,” Yovanovitch said it “felt like a vague threat.”

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, 35, is becoming a “break-out star” of the impeachment inquiry hearings, at least in rightwing media circles.

After Wednesday’s hearing, Matthew Dowd, chief political analyst for ABC News, tweeted: “Elise Stefanik is a perfect example why just electing someone because they are a woman or a millennial doesn’t necessarily get you the leaders we need.” He apologised following an online backlash.

The fracas was gleefully highlighted by Fox News, where Stefanik appeared as an interviewee.

Early today, along with colleague Jim Jordan, she tried to interrupt chairman Adam Schiff but was swatted away. She tweeted in response: “Adam Schiff #RegimeofSecrecy continues. He is making up the rules as he goes along and not only interrupts and limits Republican questions. But also our important parliamentary questions.”

We can expect to hear more from her.

Trump smears Yovanovitch's reputation as she testifies

Trump has sent off a two-part tweet questioning the professional reputation of Maria Yovanovitch as the former US ambassador to Ukraine publicly testifies in the impeachment inquiry.

Yovanovitch, a longtime diplomat, has served in several “hardship posts,” including Somalia as the country was suffering a civil war.

“Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,” Trump tweeted. “She started off in Somalia, how did that go?”

In reality, Yovanovitch has been widely lauded by her fellow diplomats as a model civil servant, and even deputy secretary of state John Sullivan told her she had “done nothing wrong” when he dismissed her from Kyiv.

Yovanovitch criticizes state department leadership

In her opening statement, Maria Yovanovitch also criticized the current leadership of the state department for not defending its staffers amid attacks.

“At the closed deposition, I expressed grave concerns about the degradation of the Foreign Service over the past few years and the failure of State Department leadership to push back as foreign and corrupt interests apparently hijacked our Ukraine policy,” Yovanovitch said.

“The State Department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage. This is not a time to undercut our diplomats. It is the responsibility of the Department’s leaders to stand up for the institution and the individuals who make that institution the most effective diplomatic force in the world.”

Yovanovitch did not mention Mike Pompeo by name, but the longtime diplomat’s testimony was clearly aimed at the secretary of state and will likely spark more questions about his leadership at the department.

Maria Yovanovitch closed her opening statement by offering a robust defense of foreign service officers and their commitment to the United States.

“We are professionals, public servants who by vocation and training pursue the policies of the President, regardless of who holds that office or what party they affiliate with,” Yovanovitch said.

“We handle American Citizen Services, facilitate trade and commerce, work security issues, represent the U.S., and report to and advise Washington, to mention just a few of our functions. And we make a difference every day.”

Yovanovitch denies baseless allegations against her

In her opening statement, Maria Yovanovitch criticized the Americans willing to partner with corrupt Ukrainians to orchestrate her ouster, in an apparent reference to Rudy Giuliani.

“How could our system fail like this? How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?” Yovanovitch asked. “Such conduct undermines the U.S., exposes our friends, and widens the playing field for autocrats like President Putin.”

The former US ambassador to Ukraine also denied that she had circulated a “do not prosecute” list in connection to Ukrainian corruption or that she instructed staffers to ignore Trump’s wishes, as some far-right websites alleged.

Yovanovitch went on to specifically address Giuliani’s efforts to have her removed. “I do not understand Mr. Giuliani’s motives for attacking me, nor can I offer an opinion on whether he believed the allegations he spread about me,” Yovanovitch said.

“What I can say is that Mr. Giuliani should have known those claims were suspect, coming as they reportedly did from individuals with questionable motives and with reason to believe that their political and financial ambitions would be stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.”

Yovanovitch sworn in

Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, has been sworn in and is now delivering her opening statement to the House intelligence committee.

Yovanovitch opened her statement by recounting her family’s history of fleeing the Soviet Union and her own career serving in several “hardship” posts as a diplomat.

The White House said in a statement that Trump was only briefly watching today’s public impeachment hearing and would then return to work.

“The President will be watching Congressman Nunes’ opening statement, but the rest of the day he will be working hard for the American people,” said Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s press secretary.

However, the White House made a similar statement on Wednesday before Trump went on to repeatedly retweet messages from Republicans about the hearing.

Nunes accuses Democrats of trying to 'fulfill their Watergate fantasies'

Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, used his opening statement to criticize the impeachment inquiry and accuse his Democratic colleagues of scheming to remove Trump from office.

The California Republican said Democrats were engaging in “day-long TV spectacles” to “fulfill their Watergate fantasies,” even though many members of the House Democratic caucus only came around to supporting an impeachment inquiry after the September revelation of the whistleblower complaint on the Ukraine call.

Nunes also read the full transcript of Trump’s first call with the Ukrainian president, which was released just as the hearing began. Nunes’ reading of the transcript minutes late indicates that the document’s release may have been coordinated with Republicans on the House intelligence committee.

Echoing Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi applauded the long diplomatic career of Maria Yovanovitch moments before the former US ambassador to Ukraine was set to start testifying in the second public impeachment hearing.

Trump was also tweeting minutes before the hearing began, accusing Pelosi of ignoring other priorities as the impeachment inquiry advances.

Schiff applauds Yovanovitch's career in opening statement

Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, is using his opening statement to applaud Maria Yovanovitch’s efforts to crack down on Ukrainian corruption.

“In her time in Kyiv, Ambassador Yovanovitch was tough on corruption, too tough on corruption for some, and her principled stance made her enemies,” Schiff said. “As George Kent told this committee on Wednesday, ‘you can’t promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing-off corrupt people.’”

However, Schiff noted that Yovanovitch’s anti-corruption efforts also angered some of Trump’s allies, including Rudy Giuliani, as they sought investigations into the Democrats.

“Getting rid of Ambassador Yovanovitch helped set stage for an irregular channel that could pursue the two investigations that mattered so much to the President, the 2016 conspiracy theory, and most important, an investigation into the 2020 political opponent he apparently feared most, Joe Biden,” Schiff said.

Second public impeachment hearing begins

Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, has gaveled in the second public hearing of the impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Schiff and the top Republican on the panel, Devin Nunes, will be allowed to make opening statements before turning things over to today’s witness, Maria Yovanovitch.

The former US ambassador to Ukraine will also be given the chance to make an opening statement before taking questions from committee lawyers and members.

White House releases transcript of first Ukraine call

Moments before the second public impeachment hearing was set to begin, the White House released a transcript of Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.

According to the transcript, the call was rather unremarkable, with Trump simply offering his congratulations to the newly elected president and promising to send a US representative to his inauguration.

Trump slams impeachment inquiry by insulting San Francisco

About 10 minutes before the next impeachment hearing was set to begin, Trump sent a tweet slamming the inquiry and calling Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district a “disgusting Slum.”

It has been a frequent Republican talking point that the impeachment inquiry has prevented Democrats from getting other legislative work done. However, Pelosi said yesterday that believed a deal on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement was “imminent.”

Yovanovitch arrives to testify

Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, has arrived on Capitol Hill to testify in today’s public impeachment hearing.

Yovanovitch first testified in the impeachment inquiry on Oct. 11 behind closed doors. According to her opening statement, the diplomat told impeachment investigators that she was removed from her post in Kyiv because of “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.”

The line to get into the House hearing room where Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, will soon testify already stretches down the hallway.

Republicans on the House intelligence committee have set up their exhibits for today’s impeachment hearing, and they have added a new sign since Wednesday. It features a quote from Ukraine’s foreign minister claiming he never saw a link between US military aid and investigations into the Democrats.

After the first public impeachment hearing, some commentators complained that Bill Taylor and George Kent’s appearance featured few explosive moments, even though Taylor testified about a previously unknown call in which Trump asked about “the investigations” in Ukraine.

However, it appears that past impeachment hearings have been similarly subdued. The front page of the Washington Post after the first Watergate hearings in 1973 described the event as “not exactly high drama.”

As Capitol Hill prepares for the second public impeachment hearing, the ratings have come in for the first hearing, and they are ... lackluster.

Axios reports:

Day One’s 13 million live TV viewers fell well shy of James Comey’s testimony in June 2017 (19.5m); the Christine Blasey Ford/Brett Kavanaugh hearing from September 2018 (20m); and the Michael Cohen hearing in February (16m).

However, as Axios notes, this dip in viewership may be because the impeachment hearings are expected to play out over several days, so Americans might be waiting to tune in.

Former US ambassador to Ukraine set to testify in impeachment hearing

Good morning, live blog readers!

And welcome to Day Two. The second public hearing in the House impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump begins at 9am ET with the testimony of Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine.

Marie Yovanovitch arrives on Capitol Hill last month.
Marie Yovanovitch arrives on Capitol Hill last month. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Yovanovitch is a career diplomat who was recalled from her post in May, even though she was widely respected by her fellow state department employees. (For more on Yovanovitch’s long government career, read Julian Borger’s excellent profile of her from last month.)

Yovanovitch testified to impeachment investigators last month that when she was recalled in May, even deputy secretary of state John Sullivan told her she had “done nothing wrong”. The diplomat, as well as some her colleagues, contend she was the victim of a smear campaign by Rudy Giuliani. The president’s personal lawyer was reportedly dissatisfied that Yovanovitch was becoming a barrier in his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate one of Trump’s political rivals, Joe Biden.

In the White House memo on Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, the commander-in-chief is quoted as calling Yovanovitch “bad news” and predicting she was “going to go through some things”. Today, the longtime civil servant will have a chance to share her side of the story with the public.

Updated

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