Fiona Hill to target Republican argument Ukraine influenced 2016 election. "This is a fictional narrative perpetrated and propagated by Russian security services... I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternative narrative that the Ukrainian govt is a US adversary..
"President Putin and Russian security services operate like a Super PAC. They deploy millions of dollars to weaponize our own political opposition research, false narratives. When we're consumed by partisan rancor, we cannot combat these external forces as they seek to divide us"
.@DevinNunes criticizes Hill before her opening statement, noting 2018 Republican House Intel report that found "Russia conducted cyberattacks on US," "Russian-state actors and 3rd-party intermediaries were responsible for dissemination of docs, comms stolen from US pol orgs"
@DevinNunes But @RepDevinNunes then repeats Republican argument Ukraine also meddled in the 2016 election, an argument Hill will say is the result of Russian disinformation. Nunes: "Republicans believe it's important to take seriously meddling by all foreign countries."
@DevinNunes @RepDevinNunes David Holmes seems to be making the defense of Ambassador Yovanovitch--whom he served--that senior State Department officials declined to make.
@DevinNunes @RepDevinNunes "3 priorities of security, economy, and justice, and our support for Ukrainian democratic resistance to Russian aggression, became overshadowed by political agenda being promoted by former Rudy Giuliani and a cadre of officials operating with a direct channel to the White House."
@DevinNunes @RepDevinNunes Holmes explains what he sees as origin of Yavonovitch campaign: Prosecutor General Lutsenko "complained Ambassador Yovanovitch had 'destroyed him' with her refusal to support him until he followed through with reform commitments and ceased using his position for personal gain
"Lutsenko made a series of unsupported allegations against Yovanovitch [including] Embassy had ordered the investigation of former Ukrainian official solely because that former official was allegedly main Ukrainian contact of the Republican Party and of President Trump personally
"And Embassy had allegedly pressured Lutsenko’s predecessor to close case against different former Ukrainian official, solely bc alleged connection bt that official’s company, Burisma, and former Vice President Biden’s son...
Lutsenko also claimed... there was a tape of a Ukrainian official saying he was trying to help Hillary Clinton win the 2016 election."
Note Holmes' language here that Republicans will seize on: "I _understood_ that this meant the Burisma/Biden investigations... _it was made clear_ that some action on a Burisma/Biden investigation was a precondition for an Oval Office meeting."
Interesting detail from Holmes we haven't heard before: On July 26, Zelensky said on July 25 call @realDonaldTrump "'3 times' raised 'some very sensitive issues,' that he would have to follow up on those issues when he and Trump met..I didn't know what those sensitive issues were
@realDonaldTrump Holmes keeps his testimony despite @USAmbEU denials yesterday, says after Sondland/@realDonaldTrump phone call, Sondland said President Trump only cared about "'big stuff' that benefits the President, like the 'Biden investigation.'"
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU Fiona Hill calls the July 25 @realDonaldTrump/Zelensky call "surprising," points out the juxtaposition of support to Ukraine and investigations was exactly what she and @AmbJohnBolton were afraid of when they opposed having the call.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton Holmes very clearly lays out Putin's 3 motivations for the creating a disinformation campaign that Ukraine supported Hillary Clinton: 1. Deflect from his own meddling in 2016 election. 2. Drive wedge between the US and Ukraine. 3. "Besmirch" Ukrainian leadership.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton Fiona Hill quotes @AmbJohnBolton calling @RudyGiuliani "a hand grenade that was going to blow everything up," that his actions "would come back to haunt us. And that's where we are today."
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani Both Fiona Hill and David Holmes say "Burisma" was code for "Biden," and that US officials working on #Ukraine knew that. They are both suggesting that @kvolker and @USAmbEU either lied or were naive when they said they did not make that connection at the time.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Fiona Hill describes the moment @AmbJohnBolton uses the term "drug deal" after, on July 10, @USAmbEU claims he and Mulvaney "had an agreement" Zelensky would get a @realDonaldTrump White House meeting if Ukraine conducted investigations into 2016 and Burisma.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Finally, witness points out that Javelins are not actually deployed. Javelins are not deployed to the front because of security fears, they're meant to be deterrence, and because it's easier to deploy them in case of Russian invasion if they are kept back from front lines.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Big moment. Fiona Hill on Sondland: "We weren't coordinating because we weren't doing the same thing... He was being involved in a domestic political errand. And we were involved in national security policy."
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker "His feeling the NSC was trying to block him. What we were doing was trying to stop him from getting into domestic politics."
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Fiona Hill testifies she never questioned Vindman's expertise or judgement, but that he did not have enough of a political radar to understand or be part of a partisan or political issue.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Fiona Hill details July 10 Ward Room meeting. Says walked into room, heard @USAmbEU tell Ukrainians he and Mulvaney agreed White House meeting would only happen if Ukraine announced 2016, Burisma. "It was clear Burisma was code for Bidens, because Giuliani had laid it out there"
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker Fiona Hill: In 2016, the "Ukrainian government bet on the wrong horse." But then reads from @kenvogel piece and points out, "there was little evidence of a top-down effort" by Ukraine, contrasts that with what the I.C. calls Russian President Putin's decision to target 2016 elex
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel Fiona Hill says many countries bet on the wrong horse in 2016 and said negative things about candidate Trump. "I would take offense if I were the President." But says only country @realDonaldTrump became skeptical of because of those comments was Ukraine.
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel Interesting point being teased out by @RepRatcliffe with David Holmes: If @USAmbEU told @realDonaldTrump on July 26 Zelensky would conduct investigations, how did Sondland know? Holmes says assumes in closed-door meeting with Yermak, but Sondland testified topic didn't come up
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel @RepRatcliffe No questions to either Hill or Holmes from the last 3 Republicans. @EliseStefanik up next
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel @RepRatcliffe Important correction to this. We went back to the transcript, and @RepRatcliffe's characterization of Sondland's testimony is incorrect. Sondland testified "the issue of investigations was probably a part of that agenda" in his meeting with Yermak
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel @RepRatcliffe @EliseStefanik @WillHurd, who's not running for reelection, says, "I disagree with sort of bungling of foreign policy," referring to @realDonaldTrump. But says "an impeachable offense should be overwhelming," and "I haven't heard evidence of the President's bribery."
@realDonaldTrump @USAmbEU @AmbJohnBolton @RudyGiuliani @kvolker @kenvogel @RepRatcliffe @EliseStefanik @WillHurd At this point, very few Democrat or Republican lawmakers are asking many questions...
