Here are 7 remarkable moments from the morning's impeachment testimony
Two witnesses gave powerful and important testimony beginning Tuesday morning as the impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump continued.
Republicans finally got what they've been asking for in the form of two firsthand witnesses to President Donald Trump's conduct — National Security Council staffer Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence — but they weren't happy with what they heard. Both Williams and Vindman were stunned and disturbed by Trump's July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Here are seven remarkable moments from the hearing:
1. Vindman laid out why Trump's "inappropriate" demand for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden was so disturbing.
“The Ukrainian judiciary is imperfect at the moment," he said. "And the reliance on US support could conceivably cause them to tip the scales of justice in favor of finding a U.S. citizen guilty if they felt they needed to do it.”
ALEXANDER VINDMAN on TRUMP call for Ukraine investigations: “The Ukrainian judiciary is imperfect at the moment. A… https://t.co/tBaBM6NqIm— JM Rieger (@JM Rieger) 1574189359
2. Vindman made clear that — despite Trump defenders' claims that the president only cared about fighting corruption Ukraine, not his own re-election campaign — he never mentioned "corruption" in his two phone calls with President Zelensky.
Schiff: "Did talking points [prepared for POTUS for April 21 call] include rooting out corruption in Ukraine?" Vin… https://t.co/CXXIgqbTUO— CBS Evening News (@CBS Evening News) 1574175496
3. Williams reacted to the president's attacks on her.
"I was not expecting to be called out by name," she said.
"I was not expecting to be called out by name," Jennifer Williams said about President Trump's tweet attacking her… https://t.co/an34GrkebF— The New York Times (@The New York Times) 1574186585
4. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) spoke out against the attacks on Vindman suggesting he was insufficiently loyal to the United States.
"From one immigrant American to another immigrant American, I want to say to you that you and your family represent the very best of America," he said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi blasts commentators who have questioned Vindman because he is an immigrant: "From one imm… https://t.co/LHZiOjfBCi— CBS News (@CBS News) 1574188517
5. Vindman read Fiona Hill's evaluation of him.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) tried to attack Vindman's credibility, saying his supervisors had expressed concerns about him. But the witness was prepared for this line of questioning, and he responded by reading a glowing review of him from Hill, completely dramatically Jordan.
That moment when Lt. Vindman showed Gym Jordan the receipts on his performance #ImpeachmentHearing https://t.co/dD3lXsXIvi— Viktor de Pointe du Lac (@Viktor de Pointe du Lac) 1574190588
6. "Lt. Col."
Vindman corrected Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) for not calling him by his rank.
Rep. Devin Nunes refers to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman as "Mr. Vindman." "Ranking member, it's lieutenant colonel V… https://t.co/vM49HufcqP— ABC News (@ABC News) 1574178497
7. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) stopped Nunes from trying to out the whistleblower.
Republicans have been trying to use the proceedings to out the whistleblower, but Schiff has said he won't let the hearings be used for that purpose.
Moments ago, Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff halted @RepDevinNunes' questions to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindma… https://t.co/LSxhhAtwAl— Townhall.com (@Townhall.com) 1574179233
