How the House's inaugural public impeachment hearings will work

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

published 13 November 2019

The House Intelligence Committee will gavel into session at 10 a.m. (EST) Wednesday for the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump's Ukraine dealings. Wednesday's witnesses are William Taylor, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent.

The hearings, broadcast live on cable and network TV and online, will begin with 90 minutes of questioning by House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and the panel's top Republican, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), and their staff; most of the questions are expected to come from former federal prosecutor Daniel Goldman for the Democrats, Steve Castor for the Republicans. After Schiff and Nunes take their 45 minutes, the other committee members will each get five minutes to question the witnesses.

Taylor will likely testify about his alarm that the Trump administration was withholding crucial military aid for Ukraine until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly announced investigations of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Kent testified behind closed doors that Trump was insisting Zelensky say three words: "Investigations, Biden, Clinton." The Washington Post's Paul Kane previews the hearings.

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Democrats have signaled they will try to keep the hearing focused on Trump and what they believe are his use of the U.S. government to extort Ukraine into targeting Trump's domestic political rivals. Republicans will try to keep the focus off of Trump and, according to their published talking points, argue that the witnesses have no first-hand knowledge of Trump's directives, and try to paint the impeachment inquiry as part of a long-running effort by Democrats to unseat Trump. You can watch The Associated Press give its overview of the historic hearings below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.