The hearings in the explosive procedure in impeachment against Donald Trump entered, Tuesday, November 19, at the heart of the Ukrainian case. On the agenda: the testimony of two senior advisers who listened to a controversial call between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart, saying he was "inappropriate".
In military uniform, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Vindman, a member of the National Security Council, sat alongside Jennifer Williams, Special Advisor to US Vice President Mike Pence, before the House Intelligence Committee.
With these river auditions, broadcast live on all major news channels, the Democrats want to allow Americans to form their opinion on the efforts of the head of state to get Ukraine to investigate a potential rival to the presidential election of 2020: the democrat Joe Biden.
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"No pressure" according to Donald Trump
With tweets and derogatory comments, the US president and his Republican allies have tried to portray these two senior advisers as anti-Trump despite their work for the presidency.
On the heart of the case, the two witnesses expressed their discomfort with the July 25 appeal between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom they listened to as it unfolded. The ex-real estate mogul believes that this call - in which he asked her to "look" at Joe Biden - was "perfect". He says he has exercised "no pressure" on his interlocutor, but the Democrats suspect him of freezing a military aid to force the hand to the Ukrainian president.
"It is inappropriate for the US President to require a foreign government to investigate an American citizen and a political opponent," Alexander Vindman said. He had been worried about the blackmail on Kiev since July 10 and had seized the legal services of the Presidency.
A call deemed "inappropriate"
Stating that she had listened to "about a dozen other presidential phone calls" as part of her duties, Jennifer Williams explained that she had found "the call of July 25 unusual because (...) there implied discussions about what appeared to be "American" policy issues.
Like Alexander Vindman, she had already testified in camera before parliamentarians in October. Both counselors considered this call "inappropriate".
For the Intelligence Committee, it is to demonstrate if "the president has abused his powers and invited foreign interference" in the US presidential pressuring Ukraine, said Adam Schiff, Democratic leader of the commission . And, ultimately, if it justifies to dismiss him.
A "witch hunt"
The rapid sequence of these testimonies suggests that the Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, hope to vote quickly on the formal indictment of the President. Donald Trump, however, should escape an impeachment, the burden of judging returning to the Senate in the hands of Republicans, who continue to block around him.
The billionaire denounces an unprecedented "witch hunt". For his part, the Ukrainian president said Tuesday "tired" of the scandal.
A hearing is particularly awaited by the Democrats: Wednesday, the former ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. The ex-diplomat had, by his own admission, told the Ukrainians that the $ 400 million in military aid would not be released if he did not publicly announce an investigation into Joe Biden.
With AFP