A day before the first public impeachment proceeding hearings, Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina attempted to discredit the witnesses House Democrats have called as part of their investigation into President Trump.
“The Democrats do not have a serious case,” Meadows said Tuesday. “This is a fantasy.”
William Taylor, the Trump administration’s top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent are slated to testify before the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman Adam Schiff on Wednesday morning.
Several State Department officials have already testified before the committee behind closed doors.
The two men are said to have some knowledge of instances in which the president abused his power. A whistleblower came forward last month and claimed Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate corruption charges against Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
The whistleblower alleged that aid was withheld from Ukraine and used as a bargaining chip in a “quid pro quo” to dig up political dirt on the Bidens.
Schiff and other members of the Democratic leadership have said such an action demands Trump’s removal from office.
Over and over we’ve seen a consistent theme through witness interviews, from the people who actually talked to @realDonaldTrump: there was NO link between aid to Ukraine and political investigations.
The Democrats do not have a serious case. This is a fantasy.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) November 12, 2019
Meadows and his allies on Capitol Hill have spent recent weeks criticizing Schiff and House Democrats for leading a “sham” impeachment process. Their central focus has been on the fact that no witnesses called as part of the impeachment proceedings possesses firsthand knowledge of Trump’s call with Ukraine.
No quid pro quo exists, they say, and Democrats are simply seeking to reverse the result of the 2016 presidential election.
“Over and over we’ve seen a consistent theme through witness interviews, from the people who actually talked to [Donald Trump],” Meadows said. “There was NO link between aid to Ukraine and political investigations.”
Trump said his call with Ukraine was “perfect” and House Democrats are leading “the biggest political witch hunt in American history.”
