Article snippet: House investigators staged another marathon day of public impeachment hearings on Tuesday, featuring a career military official defending his years of service from GOP questions of loyalty as well as a top diplomat, hand-picked by Republicans, who shifted his testimony to offer a more critical view of MORE’s contacts with Ukraine. Lt. Col. MORE, a Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council (NSC), clashed with Republicans during the hearing of the Intelligence Committee, where he provided a first-hand account of the July 25 call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump had pressed Zelensky to launch investigations that could have benefited Trump politically — the episode at the heart of the House impeachment inquiry — and Vindman characterized the pressure campaign as “improper.” “It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and political opponent,” he said. Lawmakers also heard from MORE had called for a Ukraine prosecutor’s dismissal because of his son’s role in Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. It is, Volker said, a “conspiracy theory.” Volker’s testimony was notable because Republicans expected him to be a friendly witness for Trump. Indeed, House Republicans have said for weeks that Volker had “exonerated” Trump in his closed-door deposition last month, when he’d testified that the White House’s hold on U.S. military aid to Ukraine was “not significant.” ... Link to the full article to read more