Article snippet: Both parties wasted no time digging in on Thursday following Congress's first witness interview related to MORE's dealings with Ukraine, the topic that now stands at the forefront of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Emerging from a nearly 10-hour deposition in the Capitol basement, Republican and Democratic members offered decidedly different takes regarding testimony from MORE, who resigned last week as Trump's special envoy to Ukraine. Democrats said Volker validated previous claims from a government whistleblower that the president had sought to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart into investigating MORE, a leading Democratic presidential contender, while withholding military aid to the country. “We saw further evidence that there was a shadow shakedown going on,” Rep. MORE (D-Calif.), an Intelligence Committee member, told reporters afterward. Republicans, meanwhile, rushed to Trump’s defense. They argued that Volker had not only exonerated the president of any wrongdoing, but also provided damning new evidence regarding Biden’s son, Hunter, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. “The allegations of a quid pro quo, basically today just blew a massive hole throughout the entirety of that argument," said Rep. MORE (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The administration is in an even stronger place today than they were this morning as a product of Ambassador Volker coming to testify.” The conflicting accounts reflect... Link to the full article to read more