Article snippet: WASHINGTON — CrowdStrike, Alexandra Chalupa, and a mysterious black ledger. Throughout the past two weeks of public House impeachment hearings, Republicans used much of their valuable time to ask questions about the same obscure topics as they tried to distract from the allegations against President Trump and his dealings with Ukraine. “Have you met with or do you know Alexandra Chalupa?” California Representative Devin Nunes asked David Holmes, an official in the US Embassy in Ukraine, on Thursday. Nunes was referring to a former staffer for the Democratic National Committee and a debunked theory that she colluded with Ukrainian officials to turn up political dirt on Trump. “No,” Holmes replied. Nunes then asked the same question of the day’s other witness, Fiona Hill, a former White House Russia expert, and got the same response. Nunes and other Republicans seeded the televised House Intelligence Committee hearings over the past two weeks with the language of right-wing conspiracy theories swirling on the Internet. It was part of a broader Republican effort to muddy the case Democrats have sought to present that Trump abused the power of his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Their questions often elicited blank looks from the witnesses, and the queries astounded some observers. Republican strategist Doug Heye said he was surprised to see Republicans so comfortable trafficking in conspiracies. “There i... Link to the full article to read more