This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
On Friday, three influential Senate Republicans - Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa - jointly requested testimony and documents from Alexandra Chalupa, a former Democratic National Committee aide, and a former Ukrainian Embassy official. This move comes as the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump continues to unfold.
According to Senator Johnson, there are 'many unanswered questions that have festered for years' regarding Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 election. He emphasized that those who are curious have a legitimate and understandable desire to know if wrongdoing occurred.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler had given Republicans until Friday evening to say whether they intended to request witnesses. Democrats are likely to reject the requests from Senator Collins.
The Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing earlier this week, featuring a panel of constitutional scholars discussing the history and meaning of impeachment. Democrats on the committee are preparing for another marathon session on Monday to receive and debate the findings from the House Intelligence Committee's two-month investigation of President Trump's attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.
On Friday, the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform Committees formally transmitted their findings to the Judiciary Committee, including a lengthy report, minority views, transcripts of depositions, interviews, and hearings, as well as evidence cited in the report.
Even as staff prepared to present the case against President Trump, the intelligence panel was still working to present more evidence. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff wrote to Vice President Mike Pence requesting that he or another authority declassify additional testimony provided by one of his national security aides.
