Welcome to Thursday, November 14th, serfs and royalty...

The first public impeachment hearing is over, and it tied Trump more directly to the Ukraine pressure campaign.

William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat for Ukraine, testified that a State Department staffer told him that he overheard Trump asking about "investigations" he wanted Kiev to pursue that might help him in the 2020 election.

This call took place on July 26, a day after the now-infamous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Vladomyr Zelensky.

"The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone asking Ambassador [to the EU Gordon] Sondland about the investigations," Taylor said. When the staffer asked Sondland about Trump’s thoughts on Ukraine, "Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for," Taylor testified.

Some other key moments:

• Taylor said he wasn't aware of another president conditioning foreign aid on his personal or political interests.
• George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, was asked about allegations by Trump and his allies that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. election and Vice President Joe Biden pressured Kiev to fire a prosecutor. Kent responded there's "no factual basis" for either allegation.
• Kent testified that Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, hurt U.S.-Ukrainian relations with "politically motivated investigations."
• Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the ranking member on the committee, called the hearing a "carefully orchestrated smear campaign" against Trump.

Did Wednesday's hearing change your mind about impeachment?

On the Radar

Pause in Interest Rate Cuts

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers that the central bank is unlikely to pursue further interest rate cuts unless the ongoing economic expansion falters in his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday.

Powell said that the unemployment rate remained near a half-century low of 3.6% in October and that the baseline outlook of “a sustained expansion of economic activity, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2 percent objective” remains unchanged. While the forecast going forward is essentially unchanged, Powell said the Fed would continue to assess data and “would respond accordingly” if the economy declines, adding that “policy is not on a preset course.”

What's your outlook for the U.S. economy?

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Under the Radar

CTRL-P[istol]

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from allowing blueprints of 3D-printed guns to be shared online.

In July 2018, a gun-activist group reached a settlement with the Department of State that allowed the organization to legally distribute online instruction manuals for firearms that can be created by anyone with a 3D printer.

Judge Robert Lasnik said Tuesday that the 2018 deal was “arbitrary and capricious," and therefore a violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

“The Department of State concluded that the worldwide publication of computerized instructions for the manufacture of undetectable firearms was a threat to world peace and the national security interests of the United States and would cause serious and long-lasting harm to its foreign policy,” Judge Lasnik said in a 25-page order.

Defense Distributed, who made the gun blueprints, have argued that blocking the publication of its 3D-printed gun instructions violate the First and Second Amendments.

Do you support DIY guns?

Bonus Action: Congress is currently considering a bill on this issue. Tell your reps: Should Purchases of Untraceable, Homemade “Ghost Guns” be Subject to Federal Background Checks?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should Children Born Abroad to U.S. Military & Civil Service Personnel or Adopted Receive U.S. Citizenship?