HERE'S THE DEAL
IMPEACHMENT EDITION

Hello to our wonderful readers,  

This is a short note, but I wanted to personally thank you for responding last week to our Impeachment Brief.  We were overwhelmed with a positive e-mail, as well as a few questions.  It feels like we are on the right track here.

This confirms how lucky I am to work at NewsHour and with readers like you.  On tough days, I suspect I’ll look at these emails from you and others again for motivation.

Thank you again and we’ll keep working to cut out the distractions and bring you information that matters right now.

Sincerely,
Lisa Desjardins

What’s the latest? Here is our video explaining it.  Or read below:

• William Taylor is the charge’ d’affairs, currently the top diplomat at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine. He is a longtime diplomat, who was appointed Ambassador to Ukraine by President George W. Bush. He left the position under President Barack Obama, but the Trump administration asked him to return to service.
• Taylor kept organized notes about conversations and decisions involving the White House and Ukraine.
• Taylor told lawmakers the Trump administration operated Ukrainian policy on two tracks, one using the regular diplomatic process and an “irregular” one, which featured the president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
• He said the two-track system led to “ultimately alarming circumstances.”
• Taylor’s testimony contradicted some of that of Gordan Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, who testified last week.  Sondland told Congress he initially was not aware the Trump administration was interested in an investigation into a Ukrainian energy company which had hired Hunter Biden. But Taylor testified that Sondland told him the president wanted Ukraine to publicly announce an investigation.

• Some House Republicans complained that Democrats have refused to grant them open access to impeachment documents. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and other Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote a letter saying they are only allowed access when Democrats are present, calling the rules “outrageous.”