President Trump attacked former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in a pair of tweets as she testified Friday in the House's impeachment inquiry.
The big picture: White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told reporters earlier today that Trump "will be watching [ranking House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Devin Nunes'] opening statement, but the rest of the day he will be working hard for the American people."
- Trump's 10:01 a.m. tweet came 35 minutes after Nunes' opening statement concluded at 9:26 a.m.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) read the tweets directly to Yovanovitch about 20 minutes after Trump posted them, adding that "some of us here take witness intimidation very seriously."
- "It's very intimidating. ... I mean, I can't speak to what the president is trying to do, but I think the effect is trying to be intimidating."
The state of play: Multiple House Democrats have said during a break in the hearing that Trump's tweets may trigger an article of impeachment, Axios' Alayna Treene reports.
- She adds that Trump's tweet is the type of attack that Republicans told her they were hoping to avoid today.
- Grisham issued a statement on Trump's tweet, saying, "The tweet was not witness intimidation, it was simply the president’s opinion, which he is entitled to. This is not a trial, it is a partisan political process — or to put it more accurately, a totally illegitimate, charade stacked against the president. There is less due process in this hearing than any such event in the history of our country. It’s a true disgrace."
Watch video of Yovanovitch's exchange with Schiff:
Go deeper: Live updates on Yovanovitch's impeachment hearing