Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 13 Nov 2019
THE FIRST TELEVISED hearings of the impeachment probe into Donald Trump begun today, revealing new evidence as Trump himself said he was “too busy” to watch it.
The top US diplomat in Ukraine levelled a stark new accusation about White House efforts to pressure on the Ukrainian government to investigate Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden.
William Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, told the House Intelligence Committee today, that he was told Trump cared more about the probe into his likely 2020 rival Biden, than he did about Ukraine.
Trump is accused by Democrats in the House of Representatives of abusing his power by using US military aid to pressure Kiev into opening an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
Trump, who maintains he did nothing wrong, dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a “witch hunt” and said he was too busy to watch the first televised hearings.
Details of Taylor’s evidence
Taylor, who testified in a closed hearing last month, said he had since become aware of a telephone call between Trump and Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, that was overheard by a member of Taylor’s staff.
Taylor said the staff member heard Trump asking Sondland about the status of the investigations. He said the staff member asked Sondland after the call what Trump thought about Ukraine.
“Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cared more about the investigations of Biden,” Taylor said.
In his opening statement, Taylor recalled his opposition to making US military aid to Ukraine contingent on Ukraine opening an investigation of the Bidens.
“Withholding security assistance in exchange for help with a domestic political campaign in the United States would be crazy,” he said. “I believed that then and I believe it now.”
Taylor said an “irregular policy channel” involving former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, was pushing for the Ukrainian probe into the Bidens.
On Friday, Marie Yovanovitch, the US ambassador to Ukraine whom Trump removed earlier this year, will testify.
The grounds for impeachment
Democrats have amassed evidence that Trump sought to leverage Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s desire for a meeting between the two leaders and for some $391 million in aid to get Ukraine to find dirt on Biden, who could face Trump in next year’s presidential election.
The key evidence is the official White House transcript of a 25 July phone call showing Trump pressuring Zelensky to open investigations into Biden and the 2016 conspiracy theory.
The White House has refused to hand over other records on Ukraine policy or allow top Trump aides involved in the decision to pressure Zelensky to testify.
Yesterday, Trump’s chief of staff Mick Mulvaney – who has publicly confirmed the broad outlines of Democrats’ allegations – rejected a subpoena to appear before the committee.
Trump previously called the inquiry “corrupt” and “illegal,” and maintains he did nothing wrong.
“Democrats in Washington would rather pursue outrageous hoaxes and delusional witch hunts, which are going absolutely nowhere. Don’t worry about it,” he said confidently in a speech to the Economic Club of New York yesterday.
But the investigation threatens to make him only the third US president to be impeached, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, and placed on trial in the Senate for possible removal from office.
“On the basis of what the witnesses have had to say so far, there are any number of potentially impeachable offenses: including bribery, including high crimes and misdemeanors,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who will lead the hearings, told NPR radio yesterday.
Neither Johnson or Clinton was convicted and removed. But in 1974 Richard Nixon resigned in the face of certain impeachment and removal from office for the Watergate scandal.
Hearings are expected to be fiery as a series of government officials take the stand to testify on Trump’s Ukraine machinations during the middle of this year.
Both sides have spent the past several days rehearsing for the showdown.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Hey You Guys!
slick shoes!!
Where’s the girls.!
Interesting that Corey Haim ‘passed away’ for an unkown reason (in this article) but John Matuszak ‘died’, can the author explain this terminology?
Where are the girls??
Poor Lilly didn’t hold up too well…
Corey Haim passed away from a heart related issue.. It had nothing to do with drugs, a heart defect of some kind. .
Jasus, Sloth really let himself go.
Choc-o-let?!
The girls weren’t Goonies. Fact
Like the 80′s movie ‘Stand By Me’…the 80′s was a great time when Real friends went off for the day on Adventures together in a time without the phones..This generation is doomed.
Sick balls!
Me and my friend went to a funeral one time, nothing to do with us. It was his idea. We were about 11 and we were passing wreaths down onto the coffin. I’ll never forget it. Everyone just assumed we were part of the thing. Mad when I think about it.
I’m officially old now.
Now I know I’m old and all that but I’m fairly sure there were not one but TWO female cast members you’ve left out?
More than that – it’s the two young ladies that people remember in the film but there was also mama fratelli and more than that. There was the Spanish lady that Mouth lied to about drugs etc in translation.
What? No Martha Plimpton or Kerri Green?
No mention of the girls at all. What gives?
Who?
And her been the daughter of Keith carradine you would think she would get a mention. And not a bad actress now.
What about Martha Plimpton who is in Raising Hope now??
In true 80′s style the female actors of this movie have been completely left out of this 2015 article
One of my favourite childhood memories, crashed out on the couch with my brothers watching it.
I actually used to work with a fella and he was the head off Sloth.. we used to always say “hey you guys”,.when he was around. It was bad like,feel bad about it now.
Ahh Kerri Green……
Martha Plimpton isn’t worthy of a mention?
loved that movie as a kid
Must say, the Eighties were great for growing up in. What a time I chose to be born.
E.T. was boring.
If you are a goonies fan, and haven’t heard of Herve Attia, this is magical and will really bring you back. seriously give it a whirl. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8yxrenBZW-8
@kenobi, thanks for that, a brilliant film from my youth. Brings a tear to my eye. Happy days.
@ John Mccarthy, I am glad you liked it, he does really bring you back. The one he does of the film Stand By Me will leave you wondering if someone was chopping onions close by…its unreal how he does it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XzZD69I-_Kc
Sean Astin’s mother, Patty Duke was also famous for her work.. if anyone remembers The Patty Duke Show? Both of his parents are celebrities. Hes one of my favorite actors. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001157/. I was just 2 when this movie came out and still holds childhood memories as well as other 80′s movies.
All Willy’s are one eyed lol.
Someone else can work out the headline.
Caaaannndyy!!
Still a great film, my 5 year old loves it!!
Aw man I feel old!!!
Never could get into the kids movies of the 80′s even though I was a kid myself.Anything from ET to The Goonies honestly just bored me.Although while not exactly a kids film Wargames was probably my favourite kids/teen of the decade followed by Little Nakita….
Breakfast Club.
Again, not strictly a “kids” movie, but the influence it had on that generation was incredible.
Not a bad film.It was on a few weeks back and I was surprised at the issues it deals with.Its one of those films with a pretty universal message and could be one of the few films that could stand a remake every 15 years or so.My apathy towards kids films from the era is that I grew up surrounded with teenagers and I’d have not really been exposed to the younger stuff.I remember watching The Young Ones as a 5/6 year old for example.
Ah The Breakfast Club.. Love that film.
No mention of female cast members!!!!
Sean Astin’s mother, Patty Duke was also famous for her work.. if anyone remembers The Patty Duke Show? Both of his parents are celebrities. Hes one of my favorite actors. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001157/ I was 2 when this movie came out and still remains one of my childhood favorites along with other 80′s movies!
Brilliant read
What a terrible film…
Should have been called The Goolies… lol.
have your say