Thread by @grantstern

The conclusion of George Kent's
#ImpeachmentHearings opening statement is must-read:

I would like to conclude my opening remarks with an observation about some of my fellow
public servants who have come under personal attack -- Ambassador Yovanovitch, LTC Vindman, and Dr. Hill

at least one of whom is going to appear before this body in the coming days. Masha, Alex, and Fiona were born abroad before their families or they themselves personally chose to immigrate to the United States. They all made the professional choice to serve the United States

as public officials, helping shape our national security policy, towards Russia in particular. And we and our national security are the better for it In this sense, they are the 21st-century heirs of two giants of 20th century U.S. national security policy who were born abroad:

my former professor Zbigniew Brzezinski; and his fellow
immigrant Henry Kissinger. Like the Brzezinskis and Kissingers, the Yovanovitches and Vindmans fled Nazi and communist oppression to contribute to a stronger, more secure America.

That honorable transatlantic tradition goes back to the very founding of our republic: our 18th-century independence would not have been secured without the choice of European officers -- the French-born Lafayette and Rochambeau, the German-born von Steuben, and the Poles --

Pulaski and Kosciuszko -- to come to the New World and fight for our cause of freedom, and the birth of a new country free from imperial dominion.

It is my privilege to sit next to Ambassador Taylor today, and it is my honor to serve with all of these patriotic Americans.