Impeachment inquiry hearing with former US Ambassador to Ukraine

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff commended former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch for showing "courage and commitment to country today."

"I think we could all see what an incredible public servant Ambassador Yovanovitch is," he said.

Schiff continued:

The hearing just ended and members of the House Intelligence Committee are now headed behind closed doors for US diplomat's David Holmes' deposition.

Why this matters: Holmes, the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine, overheard President Trump ask Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about the status of "investigations" during a cellphone conversation in a Kiev restaurant, according to testimony Wednesday from Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in the country.

The conversation occurred the day after Trump spoke with the Ukrainian president by phone in July, Taylor said.

Taylor did not name Holmes, but sources tell CNN that he is the member of the embassy staff Taylor was referencing.

More about Holmes: He is a career foreign service officer who arrived in Ukraine in 2017, according to a source who knows him and describes him as a "sharp guy." He joined the foreign service in 2002, according to the American Foreign Service Association, and has previously served in Kabul, New Delhi, Kosovo, Bogota, Moscow and Kosovo.

At the end of the hearing, as ex-ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch stood up and left the room, some people in the room clapped.

Multiple members of the House Intelligence Committee praised Yovanovitch during their questioning, thanking her for her service as a diplomat.

Yovanovitch's career in public service spanned 33 years: She first joined the foreign service under former President Ronald Reagan.

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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi asked former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch about "irregular channels" of diplomacy in Ukraine that another witness, diplomat Bill Taylor, brought up during his testimony earlier this week.

Taylor was referencing efforts driven by the President's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani when he mentioned irregular channels of diplomacy in Ukraine.

Yovanovitch agreed during her testimony with the point Taylor made — that she couldn't rule out the possibility that such efforts that circumvented normal diplomatic channels could be happening in other countries as well. But she added, "I have no knowledge of that."

Krishnamoorthi asked if she is concerned that these irregular channels of diplomacy may be at work elsewhere.

"I think it's a possibility," she said.

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Asked today if he thinks he’ll be impeached, President Trump said, "Well I shouldn’t be."

The President said that a recent statement from the foreign minister and President of Ukraine “ends the impeachment.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko told reporters today that the country was unaware of US assistance linked to the 2016 and Hunter Biden investigations. 

“(US) Ambassador (to the European Union Gordon) Sondland did not tell us, and certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and the investigations. You should ask him,” Prystaiko told Interfax Ukraine.

President Trump’s tweet attacking former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as her testimony was underway today does not break Twitter’s rules, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Earlier today, Trump tweeted that "everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad."  

When asked by Rep. Adam Schiff to respond to the tweet, Yovanovitch said, “It’s very intimidating.”

Mark Sandy, an official at the Office of Management and Budget, doesn’t know why the US military aid to Ukraine was withheld, but he does know that political officials came in and delayed the funding, according to a source discussing career employee.

The move took away the authority from career officials, the source said. While taking away that authority is unusual, the source said, it is not unprecedented.

Why this matters: Sandy is scheduled to appear for a closed-door deposition on Saturday.

If Sandy appears for his scheduled deposition, he would be the first OMB employee to testify. 

Sandy's attorney, Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder, told CNN on Thursday that he would testify before lawmakers if he was subpoenaed.

The attorney said he has not received a subpoena yet. The common practice in these proceedings has been the House committees deliver the subpoena the morning of the day of scheduled testimony.

As the public testimony with Marie Yovanovitch continues, diplomat David Holmes has arrived on the Hill for his scheduled closed-door deposition in the impeachment inquiry.

Why Holmes matters: David Holmes, the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine, overheard a cellphone conversation between Trump and US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland the day after Trump spoke with the Ukrainian president by phone in July, according to testimony Wednesday from Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in the country.

Taylor did not name Holmes, but sources tell CNN that he is the member of the embassy staff Taylor was referencing.

President Trump defended his tweets against former ambassador Marie Yovanovich as she testified on Capitol Hill, saying that he had every right to send them.

Trump admitted that he watched today’s proceedings, saying, "It’s really sad when you see people not allowed to ask questions." He said he didn’t watch Wednesday’s proceedings due to a White House visit from Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

When asked directly if he thought his tweets and words could be intimidating, the President responded, “I don’t think so at all.”

More context: Earlier today, Trump tweeted as former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's testimony was underway that "everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," which prompted a response minutes later from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who allowed Yovanovitch to react to Trump's latest criticisms. Schiff charged that the tweet was "designed to intimidate" her and other witnesses.

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