Impeachment inquiry update: 'Explosive' testimony

IMPEACHMENT. 2020 ELECTION. WASHINGTON. AND MORE FROM THE POLITICS WORLD.

Tuesday, October 22

Bill Taylor, the highest U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, arrives on Capitol Hill on Oct. 22, 2019.

We've got Taylor testimony about texts on this Tuesday. Let's spill the tea.

President Donald Trump may have called the impeachment inquiry a "lynching" on Twitter, causing outrage from both Democrats and Republicans, but the closed-door testimonies continued today with "explosive" headlines of their own.

Happy Tuesday, OnPolitics readers. We'll keep today's news short and sweet.

Taylor testifies

William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine who called it "crazy" that Trump would condition the release of security assistance to Ukraine on opening an investigation into Democrats, testified Tuesday behind closed doors in the House impeachment inquiry.

•	Taylor had raised concerns among diplomats that Trump was withholding nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered on his demands for an investigation.
•	Lawmakers were expected to ask Taylor about military aid and the role of Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine policy.
•	The State Department had directed Taylor not to appear as scheduled for the deposition because the White House has declared the inquiry illegitimate. But the Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Taylor and he complied.
•	The session was confidential, but Democratic lawmakers vaguely referenced the weight of the testimony. An example: Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., called it "explosive."

But their text messages!

•	In text messages released as part of special envoy Kurt Volker's testimony, Taylor questioned whether military aid was being withheld for political reasons.
•	The whole exchange discusses phone conversations and mentions a lack of "quid pro quo."
•	You can see a visual timeline of the he-texted-he text exchanges here.

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Until tomorrow.