Inside the First Public Impeachment Inquiry Hearing (photos)


The House Intelligence Committee heard testimony from William Taylor, acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent as it held its first open hearing of the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The two diplomats painted a damaging picture of a president willing to sacrifice America’s interests for his own by pressuring a foreign power to help him win reelection.

The historic hearing took place exactly 50 days since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the president of betraying his oath of office and launched the impeachment inquiry. Four addtional hearings are scheduled through next Thursday.

There are currently 233 Democrats in the House of Representatives, which has a total of 431 members. This means that 217 yeas will be needed to impeach the president. Assuming that the Republicans stay united, the Dems can afford only 16 defections. The focus will be on those moderate Democrats in swing districts. To remove Trump from office, the Constitution would subsequently require a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate.

View Jeff Malet’s photos from inside Room 1100 of the Longworth House Office Building by clicking on the photo icons below.

William Taylor, the Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. (photo by Jeff Malet)

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