Impeachment INquiry

by Ellen Yandel

Pictured: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former special envoy Kurt Volker and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland attending the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Tuesday's Testimony

Vindman: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who listened to the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, said that he viewed President Trump’s request for investigations from Ukraine as “inappropriate,” and that the U.S. freeze of military aid harmed Ukranian efforts in their conflict with Russia. Vindman also pushed back against conservative efforts to question his legitimacy.

Williams: Jennifer Williams, a national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence, also testified that the aid freeze was harmful to Ukraine. Testifying at the same time as Vindman, she agreed that the July 25 call was “unusual,” in that it appeared to discuss a “domestic political matter.”

Volker: Trump’s former special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, claimed that he did not know that concerns about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son were connected to the request for Ukrainian investigations of Trump’s political rivals.

Morrison: Former National Security Council official Tim Morrison described Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s role in Ukraine policy, saying that Sondland’s authority went above that of the National Security Council. Morrison, who also listened to the July 25 call, noted that he did not think it contained anything illegal — though he did have “concerns” about the political ramifications if what was discussed got out.

Wednesday's Testimony

Sondland: Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland opened his testimony with a decisive “yes” to the question of whether there was quid pro quo — a political favor granted with the expectation of something in return — confirming it in the case of an investigation in exchange for a White House meeting with Zelenskyy. However, he did note that Trump never directly told him that the push for Ukrainian officials to investigate Biden was connected to the withdrawn military aid — instead, Sondland assumed that was the case based on what he had been told.

Sondland also emphasized that “everyone was in the loop” on efforts to get the investigations, and that officials all the way up to Vice President Mike Pence knew about the unofficial channels used for this purpose.

Cooper: The deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, Laura Cooper, testified that she had been shown emails, some from as early as July 25, of Ukranian officials inquiring about the status of military aid — indicating that they may have known aid was withheld about a month earlier than previously thought.

Hale: Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale reiterated several other witnesses’ view that former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s dismissal based on rumors was “wrong.”

Thursday's Testimony

Hill: Former White House expert on Europe and Russia, Fiona Hill, stated that attempts to get Ukrainian officials to open investigations into the Biden family were purely political and not part of U.S. foreign policy. She also criticized a Republican narrative holding that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election, explaining that this narrative gives power to Russia.

Holmes: U.S. embassy official in Ukraine, David Holmes, confirmed in his testimony that he overheard a phone call between Trump and Sondland in which Trump asked if Ukrainian officials would go through with the investigations, to which Sondland confirmed.

Israel

by Lauren Somers

On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank “per se inconsistent with international law,” a move that further strengthened relationships between Israel and the U.S. The declaration, which goes against longstanding U.S. policy, could drastically impact the role of the U.S. in Middle Eastern conflicts.

The decision made by the Trump administration contradicts the opinions of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice, all of whom have said that Israeli settlements in the West Bank violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. The West Bank is a piece of land bordering the Dead Sea and Jordan that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. It is controversial in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as both groups believe they have a right to the land. Though international law forbids settlements in an occupied territory, Israelis have made efforts to settle parts of the West Bank, a heavily disputed — and originally Palestinian — territory.

President Donald Trump has shown strong support for Israel, and Pompeo’s announcement was given just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces political turmoil.