Article snippet: House Democrats got what they wanted out of their first impeachment hearing on Wednesday: testimony from witnesses outlining how Democrats said putting the two career State Department officials on the record lays the groundwork for building their case that Trump abused his office for his own political gain. And they secured new evidence at the start of the hearing as William Taylor, the chargé d’affaires for Ukraine, testified that his staffer had overheard Trump asking U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about the “investigations” in a July phone call. Those investigations, Taylor said, were regarding former Vice President MORE and the business dealings of his son, as well as 2016 election interference. And Democrats seized on it as further proof that Trump himself was overseeing the effort. “What this call indicates, as other testimony has likewise indicated, is that the instructions are coming from the president on down,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman MORE (D-Calif.) said after the hearing. After six weeks of closed-door depositions, Democrats are using the open hearings to air out their findings in the public sphere by displaying what they believe are the most damning lines of testimony. “I think the game changer is that the American people get to hear for themselves the evidence,” said Rep. MORE (D-Texas), a member of the Intelligence Committee. Democrats aren’t quite done with the closed-door sessions, though. They have scheduled... Link to the full article to read more