Ousted ambassador to testify in Trump impeachment probe

House will hear from a singular witness Friday in Trump impeachment hearings: Marie Yovavitch, former U.S. ambassor to Ukraine who was targeted by president’s allies in a “smear” campaign w central to inquiry.

career diplomat, who served both Republican and Democratic presidents, is expected to relay her striking story of being suddenly recalled by Donald Trump and told to “watch my back” in a swiftly developing series of events that sounded alarms about White House’s show foreign policy.

She and or officials w testifying publicly in historic House hearings scrambled to understand Trump’s actions, providing revelatory accounts that Democrats are w relying on to make case that president’s behavior is impeachable.

In particular, Yovavitch and ors have described Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, as leing what one called an “irregular channel” outside diplomatic mainstream of U.S.-Ukraine relations. Asked during her closed-door deposition if anyone at State Department who was alerted to Giuliani’s role tried to stop him, she testified, “I don’t think y felt y could.”

With start of a second day of historic hearings to consider removal of America’s 45th president, Democrats and Republicans are hardening ir messs to voters as y try to saw public opinion.

Americans are deeply entrenched in two camps over impeachment, resulting in a mounting political battle that will furr test nation in one of most polarizing eras of modern times.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday brushed aside Latin phrase “quid pro quo” that Democrats have been using to describe Trump’s actions with a more colloquial one: Bribery.

“Quid pro quo: Bribery,” Pelosi said about Trump’s July 25 phone call in which he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a favor.

Trump says call was perfect. Pelosi said, “It’s perfectly wrong. It’s bribery.”

Trump continued to assail proceedings as “a hoax” on Thursday, and House GOP Leer Kevin McCarthy dismissed witness testimony as hearsay, at best second-hand information.

“Beltway chare,” president’s son, Eric Trump, told reporters. He said good, hard-working Americans “don’t give a damn about that stuff.”

At its core, impeachment inquiry concerns Trump’s July phone call with Zelenskiy that first came to attention when an anymous government whistleblower filed a complaint.

In phone conversation, Trump asked for a “favor,” according to an account provided by White House. He wanted an investigation of Democrats and 2020 rival Joe Biden. Later it was revealed that ministration was also withholding military aid from Ukraine.

“ bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into elections,” Pelosi said. “That’s bribery.”

It’s also spelled out in Constitution as one of possible grounds for impeachment -- “treason, bribery or or and high crimes and misdemears.”

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of Intelligence Committee conducting hearings, explained shift: “English words are easier to understand than Latin words.”

president flatly denied latest revelations. During Wednesday’s hearing, William Taylor, top diplomat who replaced Yovavitch in Ukraine testified that ar State Department witness overheard Trump asking about “ investigations” day after his phone call with Kyiv.

“First I’ve heard of it,” he said, brushing off question at White House.

Associated Press reported Thursday that a second US Embassy official also overheard Trump’s conversation.

During first day of testimony, Taylor and ar seasoned foreign service officer, George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of State, delivered somber accounts about recent months.

y testified in defense of Yovanavitch amid what Kent called Giuliani’s “smear” campaign against her; about dangers of abandoning Ukraine as it faces Russia; and of what Taylor called an “irregular channel” of foreign policy orchestrated by president’s lawyer and carried out by or Trump allies.

It’s a dramatic, complicated story, and Democrats’ challenge is to capture voter attention about significance of Trump’s interactions with a distant country.

Ukraine, a young democracy with a hostile Russia at its border, is relying on U.S. as it reaches to West.

While Trump applauded aggressive stance of some of his GOP defenders, he felt that many of lawmakers in opening hearing could have done more to support him and he pressed that case with congressional allies ahe of Friday, according to Republicans who were t authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and were granted anymity.

Still, Trump’s reelection effort raised more than $3 million on first day of public impeachment hearings, and campaign manr Br Parscale anunced it w hopes to raise $5 million within a 24-hour span.

Behind closed doors this week Pelosi reminded Democratic lawmakers of importance of presenting a “common narrative” to public as proceedings push forward, according to a Democratic aide.

“We’re in Chapter One of a process,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., a member of Intelligence Committee conducting inquiry. challenge, he said, is educating Americans about what happened “and n explaining why it matters.”