Trump impeachment hearings begin

Bloomberg

Donald Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine was expected to be scrutinised in a historic public forum on Wednesday as the House opens impeachment hearings that will pit him against Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who is tasked with making the case to remove the president from office.
Trump has so far been able to count on the support of fellow Republicans, who seem unlikely to vote to remove him from office if the question reaches the Senate. But the public hearings set off a process that is almost certain to make Trump the third president ever to be impeached, a development that could reshape his presidency, as well as the 2020 election.
Schiff, who has been a frequent target of attacks from Trump and his Republican allies, was expected to keep the proceedings from devolving into a partisan shouting match, while also avoiding any missteps that could fuel charges of bias.
Wednesday’s inaugural hearing was expected to begin at 10 am with Schiff and Representative Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the panel, delivering opening statements. Schiff was expected to lead off questioning of the witnesses, William Taylor Jr, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of Dtate for European and Eurasian affairs.
Schiff has sought to button-down potential partisan disruptions with a crisp set of rules that gives his party the advantage of a full 45 minutes to question the two veteran diplomats, before turning the microphone over to Nunes, a close Trump ally. Both are expected to delegate significant portions of questioning to staff members.
Additional extended questioning rounds can be added at the discretion of the chairman. Following the extended questioning, there will be 5-minute rounds of questioning alternating between majority and
minority members. Under the rules, the chairman has the ability to call members in any order.
In a memo on hearing procedures sent to House members, Schiff said that he won’t allow lawmakers to use the sessions to pursue questions about
the “sham investigations” that Trump is accused of pressuring Ukraine to conduct.