Now giving his opening statement is William Taylor, the top US diplomat currently serving in Kyiv. He served as ambassador there once before during the W. Bush administration. Brought in again after Trump summarily dismisses his predecessor Yovanovitch earlier this year. 
Taylor says Yovanovitch was mistreated and got “caught in a web of political machinations.” He worries about the role played by Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who made “several controversial” statements about Ukraine. That’s a very diplomatic way of putting it.
Taylor describes how even as the Ukrainians were fighting Russians in the Donbas an official from Office of Management and Budget told him in a phone call military assistance to Kyiv was being held up and “the directive had come from the President to chief of staff to OMB.”
Taylor began to suspect in mid August that the long-standing policy of US support to Ukraine was shifting. “The Russians would love to see the humiliation of Zelensky at the hands of the Americans,” he told Sec of State Pompeo in a first person cable.
Eventually the US ambassador to the EU Sondland connected the dots for Taylor and told him that Trump wanted Zelensky to make a public statement about investigations into Burisma and election meddling and that the military assistance and a White House meeting depended on it.
News detail: One of Taylor’s aides was present when Sondland called Trump from Kyiv on July 26 and told him the Ukrainians were ready to launch the investigations. The aide could hear Trump asking about it at the other end of the line.
Sondland told the aide Trump cares more about the investigation into Biden than he cares about Ukraine after hanging up with the President, Taylor testified.
They just brought up a text Taylor sent where he said “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance to help with a political campaign.” That message, which came out early on in this inquiry I think cemented Taylor’s reputation as a good faith actor in the Ukraine scandal.
Another contemporaneous text message sent by Taylor that gives you an idea of his concerns at the time this alleged shakedown of Ukraine was taking place.
On Sept 8, Sondland told Taylor that there was no quid pro quo but also that “if president Zelensky did not clear things up in public” with the investigations we’d be in a “stalemate.” Taylor said he took that to mean the security assistance would not come.
Taylor talked about the damaging effect a perception of weakening US backing has on Ukraine. While the hearing is on break take a sec to watch my story about how this fight in DC is affecting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia.
Republican questioning has begun. They’re trying to establish that Ukrainians were opposed to candidate Trump in 2016 and tried to damage his run. This is part of the “Ukraine election interference” narrative that we’ll be hearing a lot about in the next few days.
Taylor is mostly responding with “I don’t know” answers. He wasn’t in Ukraine during the 2016 election campaign so I guess that’s not surprising.
George Kent confirming that he reported his concern about Hunter Biden serving on Burisma’s board to the office of the VP in 2015 because he was worried about a perception of a conflict of interests given Joe Biden’s role as special envoy to Ukraine.
Republican Counsel Steve Castor leading the questioning now: “The President’s concerns about the 2016 election, is it ultimately related to the Burisma company?” Doesn’t make sense but seems to be trying to establish that Trump was concerned about corruption?
Wondering what Joe Biden was really up to in Ukraine? I’ve got a story about that too!
Republicans are making a lot of the fact that Zelensky has repeatedly denied he was pressed by Trump. Taylor is making the point that Zelensky can’t afford to be seen by the Ukrainian people to be deffering to a foreign leader. I would add that he also can’t afford to anger Trump
"You can't promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing off corrupt people." George Kent on the smear campaign against frmr Ambassador Yovanovitch.
Taylor: “Our holding up of security assistance that would go to a country that’s fighting aggression from Russia for no good policy reason... is wrong”
- Ambassador Taylor, are you a never Trumper? - No sir.
Jim Jordan and other Republicans making a lot of the fact that Taylor and Kent are not firsthand witnesses to Trump asking for a qpq. Democrat Welch’s response: “The President is welcome to take a seat right there,” gesturing towards the witness stand.
George Kent was asked if he thought the Trump/Zelensky call was perfect. “Some of the language gave cause for concern.“
The hearings are now over but I’ll be sharing my thoughts on them and how this is playing out in Ukraine itself where I was just last week on @allinwithchris tonight. Tune in on @MSNBC
Here’s that moment from Welch responding to Jordan in technicolor:
