WASHINGTON • The US House of Representatives launched momentous televised impeachment hearings yesterday, with Democrats seeking to make the case to the American public that President Donald Trump had abused the powers of his office.
"There are few actions as consequential as the impeachment of a president," said House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff, who is overseeing the inquiry in the Democratic-controlled House.
"The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit (Ukraine's) vulnerability and invite Ukraine's interference in our elections," Mr Schiff said. "If this is not impeachable conduct, what is?"
Mr Trump faces the most perilous challenge of his tumultuous three-year tenure in the White House as the public impeachment hearings began under the glare of live television cameras.
Before the hearings started, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the probe was necessary to show Mr Trump he cannot do "whatever he wants... That he is not above the law... And that he will be held accountable".
Democrats plan to prove over several weeks of hearings that Mr Trump abused his office by asking Ukraine to conduct a politically motivated investigation into his potential rival in the 2020 presidential elections - Democrat Joe Biden. Mr Trump, who maintains he did nothing wrong, lashed out at the inquiry with a series of tweets yesterday.
Addressing the committee hearing, the panel's top Republican Devin Nunes assailed the impeachment process as "a carefully orchestrated media smear campaign" that was part of a "scorched-earth war against President Trump".
The open hearings are a pivotal test of lawmakers' ability to sway public opinion for or against Mr Trump's impeachment, in a polarised political environment where both parties are seeking to use the inquiry to their advantage heading into the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns.
It will also have the air of history - only presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton have been impeached by the House, and although neither was convicted by the Senate and removed from office, they were defining episodes.
The hearings yesterday featured testimony from Mr William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, and Mr George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Both men had previously told lawmakers in closed hearings that the White House improperly sought to leverage an Oval Office meeting and US military aid to pressure Ukraine to open probes into Democrats.
Both men sat before the House intelligence committee, as the group of 13 Democrats and nine Republicans convened. In his opening remarks, Mr Kent told the committee that starting in 2018, he became aware of an effort by Mr Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his associates to "smear" then-US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was later was recalled from her post.
Ms Yovanovitch will testify tomorrow.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump's chief of staff Mick Mulvaney - who has publicly confirmed the broad outlines of the Democrats' allegations - rejected a subpoena to appear before the committee. Democrats also unveiled the schedule for public testimony involving eight more witnesses, all of whom had previously testified behind closed doors.
The proceedings offer House Democrats a chance to present what they see as incriminating evidence against Mr Trump, gathered during an investigation which kicked off in September following a complaint from an anonymous whistle blower.
Opinion polls show a slim majority of Americans favour impeaching the President. But they also show that Mr Trump's sizeable voter base rejects the allegations.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, WASHINGTON POST
