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Impeachment: state official Philip Reeker testifies while Trump fumes Ex-White House chief Kelly claims he warned Trump about impeachment
(about 2 hours later)
The impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump resumed on Saturday with testimony from a senior state department official, a day after a federal judge dismissed Republican claims that the inquiry is illegitimate. The impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump resumed on Saturday with testimony from a senior state department official. Concurrently, John Kelly, the former White House chief of staff, said he “felt bad” for having left Trump’s side, because his advice was not followed and the president therefore faced impeachment.
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Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met with the House foreign affairs, intelligence and oversight committees behind closed doors at the US Capitol. Speaking at the Sea Island Summit, an event in Georgia organised by the conservative Washington Examiner, Kelly said that on leaving, he “said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t hire a ‘yes man’, someone who won’t tell you the truth’”.
An ex-White House adviser due to testify on Monday, meanwhile, asked a federal court if he should comply or follow Trump’s directive against cooperating in what the president calls a “scam”. “Don’t do that,” the retired marine general said he told Trump. “Because if you do, I believe you will be impeached.”
The former deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman received a subpoena from the Democrat-led committees on Friday. He quickly filed suit in US district court in Washington, asking a judge to decide whether he could assert “immunity from congressional process”. Kelly, 69, left his post in December last year, to criticism that he had not managed to restrain Trump’s wilder impulses.
On Saturday, lawmakers and staff held their first weekend deposition, after Reeker’s testimony was postponed due to memorial events this week for the representative Elijah Cummings, who was chair of the oversight panel. The former South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney replaced Kelly and still fills role in an acting capacity. He is under pressure, having told reporters Trump did make Ukraine the subject of a quid pro quo, withholding nearly $400m in US military aid while asking for political favours, the issue at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.
The American people had another victory yesterday in the court decision validating the impeachment inquiry Trump denies having done so but the House foreign affairs, intelligence and oversight committees have heard extensive testimony to the contrary.
Democrats claimed victory after a federal district court judge on Friday rejected a claim by Trump and his Republican allies that the process was illegitimate because the full House had not voted to authorize it. On Saturday Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met the committees behind closed doors at the Capitol. The Trump administration directed him not to testify, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters, but Reeker appeared after receiving a subpoena.
The judge ordered the Trump administration to give the judiciary committee secret material from the former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. The top US diplomat for Europe told the committees he had not known US aid may have been withheld in order to pressure Ukraine’s new president to conduct investigations helpful to Trump, a source told Reuters. The source said Reeker was prepared to say he had largely left Ukraine policy to Kurt Volker, then US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, and others.
The White House had claimed the inquiry was “constitutionally invalid” and defied numerous congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony. Reeker took up his post on 18 March, overseeing 50 nations including Russia and Ukraine at a time when the ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, faced public criticism at home.
“The American people had another victory yesterday in the court decision validating not only the impeachment inquiry but the imperative that the administration stop stonewalling,” the House intelligence chair Adam Schiff, leading the inquiry, told Reuters. The source told Reuters Reeker sought a stronger state department defence of Yovanovitch, who was brought back early in May, but this appeared to have been stymied “from the top”. It was not clear if secretary of state Mike Pompeo objected.
But Republicans remained defiant. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the judiciary committee, said the ruling ignored precedents set by past inquiries and that he looked forward to “an expeditious appeal”. Other officials have said the Ukraine issue was delegated to Volker and Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union. Volker testified and released text messages that detailed conversations between him, Sondland and Bill Taylor, now the top US diplomat in Ukraine. Taylor wrote that he thought it was “crazy” to withhold aid for help with a political campaign.
Kupperman, who provided foreign policy advice to the president, has been called to testify because the impeachment inquiry is rooted in a phone call Trump made to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on 25 July. Taylor testified that he was told the aid would be withheld until Ukraine conducted the investigations Trump requested. Sondland and Taylor have testified and detailed their concerns about the influence of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Trump asked the Ukrainian leader to pursue investigations of Democratic political rival Joe Biden’s family and Ukraine’s alleged role in the 2016 election. Another diplomat, George Kent, testified that he was told to “lie low” and defer to three political appointees. Yovanovitch has accused the Trump administration of recalling her based on false claims.
At the time, Trump was withholding congressionally approved military aid for Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly said there was no quid pro quo. Witness testimony has contradicted that claim. The House committees have scheduled several depositions for next week, all behind closed doors. On Monday, former deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman is due to testify. On Tuesday, lawmakers expect Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s top expert on Ukraine.
Kupperman said he “cannot satisfy the competing demands of both the legislative and executive branches”. Without the court’s help, he said, he would have to make a decision that could “inflict grave constitutional injury” on Congress or the presidency. Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security, is scheduled for Wednesday and Tim Morrison, a White House adviser on Russia and Europe, is set to appear on Thursday.
He has asked the court to expedite a decision but unless the judge issues an opinion by Monday, his testimony might not occur as scheduled. On Friday this week, Kupperman received a subpoena. He asked a federal court if he should comply or follow Trump’s directive not to, because he “cannot satisfy the competing demands of both the legislative and executive branches”. Without the court’s help, he said, he would have to make a decision that could “inflict grave constitutional injury” on Congress or the presidency.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he’s “not concerned with the impeachment scam … because I did nothing wrong.” Unless the judge issues an opinion by Monday, his testimony might not occur as scheduled.
The Trump administration directed Reeker not to testify, according to a person familiar with the situation, but Reeker appeared anyway after receiving a subpoena. Also on Friday, a federal judge rejected a claim by Trump and his Republican allies that the impeachment process was illegitimate because the full House had not voted to authorize it. The judge ordered the administration to give the judiciary committee secret material from the former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
Reeker was not expected to provide any new information, the Associated Press reported. He also was not expected to contradict the previous testimony. “The American people had another victory yesterday in the court decision validating not only the impeachment inquiry but the imperative that the administration stop stonewalling,” House intelligence chair Adam Schiff, leading the inquiry, told Reuters.
Reeker is the top US diplomat for Europe. A former ambassador to Macedonia and consul general in Milan, he was not directly involved in the debate over aid to Ukraine. Other current and former officials have said the issue was delegated to Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt Volker, the former envoy to Ukraine. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the judiciary committee, said he looked forward to “an expeditious appeal”.
Volker testified and released text messages that detailed conversations between him, Sondland and Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine. Taylor wrote that he thought it was “crazy” to withhold aid for help with a political campaign.
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Sondland and Taylor have testified and detailed their concerns about the influence of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who was leading the push for the investigations. Taylor testified that he was told the aid would be withheld until Ukraine conducted the investigations Trump requested. In Georgia on Saturday, Kelly insisted he had “an awful lot of, to say the least, second thoughts about leaving” the White House.
Another diplomat involved in those communications, George Kent, testified last week that he was told to “lie low” on Ukraine and defer to three political appointees. The former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch has also testified, accusing the Trump administration of recalling her based on false claims. “It pains me to see what’s going on,” he said, “because I believe if I was still there or someone like me was there, [Trump] would not be kind of, all over the place.”
The committees have scheduled several depositions for next week, all behind closed doors. On Tuesday, lawmakers expect Alexander Vindman, the White House National Security Council’s top expert on Ukraine. The impeachment inquiry is expected to lead to a House vote before Christmas, most likely sending Trump to the Senate for trial. A conviction is unlikely but the White House and Republicans have faced criticism for their response so far, chaotic and confrontational rather than coordinated and effective.
Kathryn Wheelbarger, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security, is scheduled to appear on Wednesday and Tim Morrison, a top White House adviser on Russia and Europe, is scheduled for Thursday. “Someone has got to be a guide that tells [the president] that you either have the authority or you don’t, or ‘Mr President, don’t do it,’” Kelly said. “Don’t hire someone that will just nod and say, ‘That’s a great idea Mr President.’ Because you will be impeached.”
He added: “The system that should be in place, clearly – the system of advising, bringing in experts in, having these discussions with the president so he can make an informed decision, that clearly is not in place. And I feel bad that I left.”
From Camp David, Trump tweeted that he’s “not concerned with the impeachment scam … because I did nothing wrong.”
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