Live updates: House Democrats to huddle about the accelerating Trump impeachment inquiry
In a television interview that aired Tuesday, Hunter Biden conceded that it might have been a mistake to serve on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president but insisted that he did not have an “ethical lapse.” He accused Giuliani and Trump of pressing “a ridiculous conspiracy” related to his tenure.
● Trump’s ex-Russia adviser told impeachment investigators of Giuliani’s efforts in Ukraine.
● ‘Disruptive diplomat’ Gordon Sondland, a key figure in Trump impeachment furor, long coveted ambassadorship.
● House Democrats express greater confidence about impeachment showdown with Trump.
The whistleblower complaint | The rough transcript of Trump’s call with Zelensky |The letter from White House counsel to House leaders
9:45 a.m.: Trump complains about lack of ‘transparency’ in proceedings
President Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to complain that witnesses in the impeachment inquiry are being deposed behind closed doors.
“Democrats are allowing no transparency at the Witch Hunt hearings,” Trump tweeted. “If Republicans ever did this they would be excoriated by the Fake News. Let the facts come out from the charade of people, most of whom I do not know, they are interviewing for 9 hours each, not selective leaks.”
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) has said that transcripts of depositions will be released and that some witnesses may be called back to testify publicly.
9:40 a.m.: Kent arrives at Capitol ahead of scheduled testimony
Kent made no comment to reporters as he arrived at the Capitol. He has been summoned to testify about a campaign by Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens.
9:10 a.m.: Zeldin claims coverage of depositions are based on ‘cherry-picked leaks’
Republicans renewed complaints Tuesday morning about depositions being held behind closed doors and again called for opening the process to the public.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said that media coverage of what occurred Monday was based on “cherry-picked leaks” by Democrats and that House investigators should “at least release the transcripts” of those being deposed.
Appearing on Fox News, Zeldin also took aim at Schiff (D-Calif.).
“Adam Schiff is making it up every single morning as he goes along,” Zeldin said. “There are no rules.”
During an appearance Monday night in New York, Schiff said lawmakers “are going to be releasing all of these transcripts” of the depositions.
He said some witnesses who have testified behind closed doors may be brought back for an open hearing.
8:45 a.m.: Sean Spicer says scrutiny of Hunter Biden is justified
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s business dealings is justified, citing the scrutiny that the business dealings of Trump’s children has received.
“We’ve seen the scrutiny with the Trump family and all of their business dealings. If it’s fair for the Trumps, it’s fair for the Bidens,” Spicer said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” that focused mostly on his tenure as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“This is politics. This is fair game,” Spicer added.
Spicer said he sees a “big difference” between the business activities of the Trump children and the service of Hunter Biden on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
“There’s no expertise in the field,” Spicer said. “There’s nothing except for your last name, and frankly, not just your last name, but your connection to the sitting vice president, who’s overseeing the policy in that country.”
8 a.m.: Top State Department official expected to face questions about Ukraine and Giuliani
Kent is expected to testify Tuesday morning in the House impeachment inquiry of Trump. He is a key witness on whether Giuliani tried to push out the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
The longtime Foreign Service official has been summoned for a deposition in the investigation, with Democrats expected to question him behind closed doors about a campaign by Giuliani to pressure Ukraine into investigating Biden and his son.
A lawyer for Kent did not respond to emails asking whether he intended to answer the summons — though Democrats were ready to subpoena him if he did not.
Giuliani accused Yovanovitch and Kent, formerly the No. 2 ranking diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, of trying to protect the Bidens from an investigation by Ukrainian prosecutors. Yovanovitch adamantly pushed back on those accusations during testimony before investigators on Friday. Kent will also likely be asked about those assertions.
Read more here.
— Rachael Bade
7:30 a.m.: Bolton declines comment on testimony that he was alarmed by Giuliani
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, declined to comment Tuesday on reports that Fiona Hill, the White House’s former top Russia adviser, told impeachment investigators Monday that he was alarmed by Giuliani’s activities in Ukraine.
Hill testified behind closed doors Monday that Bolton was furious over Giuliani’s politically motivated activities in Ukraine, according to two officials familiar with her testimony. She recounted how Bolton likened the former New York mayor to a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up,” one of these people said, after Bolton learned about Giuliani’s Ukraine campaign.
House investigators are now considering summoning Bolton, who was Hill’s direct superior at the National Security Council, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations.
— Anne Gearan
7:25 a.m.: George Conway pushes back on Republican demands to hear from whistleblower
George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, pushed back against Trump and fellow Republicans who have expressed alarm in recent days that Democrats may not seek testimony from the whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry.
“Someone calls 911 because they hear shots down the street at the bank,” tweeted Conway, a conservative lawyer and frequent Trump critic. “The cops show up at the bank, and, sure enough, it’s been robbed, and there are numerous witnesses there who saw the crime. The suspects confess. Normally, at this point, no one cares about who called 911.”
7:15 a.m.: RNC highlights effort aimed at House Democrats in swing districts
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel highlighted the RNC’s expanded efforts to target Democrats in swing districts for their support of the impeachment inquiry.
“Democrats in Congress are hiding their baseless impeachment ‘hearings’ behind closed doors, but they can’t hide from their constituents!” McDaniel wrote in a tweet that included a link to a Washington Examiner piece detailing a $2.3 million RNC effort that includes online ads with a “Stop the Madness” theme targeting 30 House Democrats.
7:10 a.m.: Jordan takes aim at Hunter Biden
As ABC was airing its Hunter Biden interview, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a key Trump ally, appeared on Fox News, where he criticized Biden’s tenure on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president.
“This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t proper. This wasn’t right,” Jordan says. “We just know that this stuff smells.”
Jordan also took issue with Hunter Biden’s assessment in the interview about whether he would have been offered the position on the board of Burisma Holdings if his last name weren’t Biden.
Hunter Biden told ABC “probably not.”
“Not probably not, definitely not,” said Jordan, who went on to criticize the Democratic-led impeachment proceedings as “an all-out attack on the president.”
6:30 a.m.: Hunter Biden concedes mistake but not an ‘ethical lapse’
Hunter Biden conceded that it might have been a mistake to serve on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president but insisted that he did not have an “ethical lapse” during a television interview that aired Tuesday.
“Did I make a mistake? Well, maybe in the grand scheme of things, yeah,” Biden said on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” referring to the fallout from his service. “But did I make a mistake based upon some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”
Hunter Biden, whose tenure on the company, Burisma Holdings, began in 2014, said he didn’t foresee that his work would become central to a political controversy. Trump and Giuliani have pressed the idea that Joe Biden’s efforts as vice president to remove a Ukranian prosecutor was tied to the fact that he had examined the company.
“What I regret is not taking into account that there would be a Rudy Giuliani and a president of the United States that would be listening to this, this ridiculous conspiracy idea, which has ... been completely debunked by everyone,” Hunter Biden said.
“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father. That’s where I made the mistake,” he added.
Read more here.
6 a.m.: Democrats to huddle Tuesday night on status of inquiry
Coming off a two-week recess, House Democrats plan to huddle at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the status of the impeachment inquiry, according to a Democratic aide.
It’s been three weeks since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the launch of the formal inquiry. While most lawmakers headed home for the recess, some with key roles in the process have spent time in Washington, along with committee staff.
The Democratic aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to share plans that have not been publicly announced.
