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| Trump impeachment hearings to go public next week | Trump impeachment hearings to go public next week |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Congressional Democrats have announced the first public hearings next week in their inquiry that could seek to remove President Donald Trump from office. | Congressional Democrats have announced the first public hearings next week in their inquiry that could seek to remove President Donald Trump from office. |
| Three state department officials will testify first in the televised hearings which have previously been held behind closed doors. | |
| The inquiry centres on allegations that Mr Trump's administration withheld aid to Ukraine to prod it to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. | The inquiry centres on allegations that Mr Trump's administration withheld aid to Ukraine to prod it to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. |
| Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing. | Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing. |
| Three key House committees have already heard private testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. | |
| The first public witness next week will be Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine. | |
| He has already told the inquiry that Mr Trump, a Republican, wanted Ukraine to investigate former US Vice-President Joe Biden, who is now a Democratic White House contender. | |
| Mr Taylor spoke of an "irregular, informal channel of US policy-making" that had "fundamentally undermined" relations with Ukraine. | |
| Also scheduled to testify publicly next week are former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and career state department official George Kent. | |
| House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, who is leading the inquiry, told reporters on Wednesday that an impeachment case was building against the president. | |
| He said: "We are getting an increasing appreciation for just what took place during the course of the last year. | |
| "And the degree to which the President enlisted whole departments of government in the illicit aim to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political opponent." |