First Run News

WASHINGTON — It could have been worse. That’s the argument Republicans put forward during the first televised impeachment hearing Wednesday, when two longtime diplomats testified for nearly six hours about Rudy Giuliani’s attempts to hijack US diplomacy on behalf of President Trump and pressure Ukraine to open an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son. “This irregular channel of diplomacy, it’s not as outlandish as it could be, is that correct?” the Republicans’ staff counsel, Steve Castor, asked William Taylor, the US ambassador to Ukrai

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, the Democrats’ case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment streamed from Americans’ TVs Wednesday, including a new contention that he was overheard asking about political “investigations” that he demanded from Ukraine in trade for military aid. On Day One of extraordinary public U.S. House hearings — only the fourth formal impeachment effort in U.S.

Two Republican members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sens.

The career State Department officials testifying in the first public proceedings of the impeachment inquiry won’t be the only ones in the spotlight on Wednesday.  Members of the House Intelligence Committee from across the political spectrum will be scrutinized for how they handle the first open hearing after weeks of clashing behind closed doors. And it won’t just be lawmakers: Key committee staff typically relegated to tasks behind the scenes will have the rare chance to ask questions of witnesses before the cameras as well. The two witnesses slated to appear in public on Wednesday have alre

House Intelligence Committee Chairman MORE, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a top NSC official. Schiff said on Wednesday that lawmakers plan to hear from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who revised his testimony to say he believed the president "likely" conditioned nearly $400 million in aid to opening such probes.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday was sharply divided over MORE's move to end Obama-era protections for immigrants who arrived in the U.S.

Democrats have reached a make-or-break moment on impeachment. For the first time, Democrats will bring their impeachment inquiry to the American public on Wednesday as they seek to showcase the most damaging testimony about MORE’s contacts with Ukraine and elevate their case that he is unfit for office. After weeks of closed-door witness depositions, the stakes are high for Democrats to deliver not just in terms of drawing in the public with riveting witness narratives, but also ensuring that Republicans and other protesters do not derail the hearing into political ch

The backstory behind how Cotton wiped out the only person who filed against him, a backbencher Democrat who announced he was running next year back in May, at just the right time to essentially ensure that he will be reelected unopposed is perhaps one of the most interesting feats in modern politics. Joshua Mahony, a Democrat and self-described-though-unconfirmed small business owner, had announced  in May he was running against Cotton for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

Sotomayor also addressed what other justices cited — the “reliance interests” of DACA recipients, or how the government program has allowed illegal migrants to get Social Security numbers, drivers licenses, and work permits that they have come to rely on. Sotomayor said: “Right,” Solicitor General Noel Francisco said.

— Tuesday, Nov. 19, morning: Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence; Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. — Tuesday, Nov. 19, afternoon: Ambassador Kurt Volker, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine; Tim Morrison, a White House aide with the National Security Council. — Wednesday, Nov. 20, morning: Ambassador Gordon Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. — Wednesday, Nov.