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The first public hearings began in the US Congress as part of the impeachment process of President Donald Trump. Two senior diplomats have shown pressure on Ukraine.
Donald Trump's impeachment procedure is now broadcast live on television. And there is show. First to be heard by the US Congress, senior diplomats William Taylor and George Kent testified to pressure on Ukraine to provide information that could help the president in his campaign for re-election.
William Taylor, the top diplomat at the US embassy in Kiev, reported a conversation that one of his aides attended on July 26 between US Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Donald Trump.
" My colleague could hear the president on the phone asking Sondland questions about the investigations. Ambassador Sondland told the president that Ukrainians are ready to move forward. After this phone call, my colleague asked Gordon Sondland what the president thought of Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump was particularly interested in the Biden investigation that Giuliani wanted to get. When I testified here on October 22, I was not aware of this conversation. "
" Abuse of power ? "
The day before, the US president had asked his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy to " look " at Democrat Joe Biden, well placed to face him in the presidential election of 2020. The revelation of this exchange, in mid-September, decided the Democrats to open an investigation in the context of the explosive impeachment procedure. Democrats suspect Donald Trump of abusing his powers for personal gain, conditioning military aid to Ukraine and a visit to Volodymyr Zelensky's White House at the opening of an investigation into Joe Biden.
Did the Republican President " urge Ukraine to interfere in our elections? " Did he abuse his power? Asked Democratic MP Adam Schiff, opening the first public hearings. " The case is as simple and terrible as that, " added the House of Representatives who oversees the investigation, promising to move forward " without rancor " or " delay ."
A potentially explosive testimony
Republican elected officials denounced " a campaign of slander orchestrated with meticulousness in the media, " taking up the line of defense of President Trump who claims to be a victim of a " witch hunt ".
Still, this phone conversation reported by William Taylor had never been mentioned before. It is potentially explosive. Gordon Sondland, a major contributor to the President's campaign as ambassador to the European Union, is scheduled to testify next week. If he confirms this conversation, the defense of the tenant of the White House, which denies any pressure on Ukraine, will be seriously undermined.