The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

Here are the latest developments in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump:

Career diplomat George Kent told congressional investigators in his closed-door testimony this week that Rudy Giuliani asked the State Department and the White House to grant a visa to the former Ukrainian official who Joe Biden had pushed to have removed when he was vice president, according to four people familiar with Kent’s testimony.

Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, testified that around January 2019 Giuliani requested a visa for former Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin to travel to the United States. Shokin had been pushed out of his position as Ukraine’s top prosecutor in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including Biden, over concerns that he was not pursuing corruption cases.

Giuliani has previously told CNN he wanted to interview Shokin in person because the Ukrainian promised to reveal dirt on Democrats.

Kent told congressional investigators the State Department had objected to the request, and State did not grant the visa. Giuliani, Kent said, then appealed to the White House to have State reverse its decision. Shokin’s visa was never granted, although Giuliani eventually spoke with Shokin over Skype.

Giuliani did not reply Friday to questions from CNN. The White House did not respond to request for comment. Kent’s lawyer declined to comment for this story.

Keep reading here.

Career diplomat George Kent arrives for a closed-door deposition in front of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Oct. 15, 2019 as part of the impeachment inquiry.

George Kent, a career foreign service officer who testified before House committees this week as part of the impeachment inquiry, was a “fact witness” who did not testify on behalf of either side, his lawyer said in a statement.

His lawyer went on to say that Kent’s testimony was not accurately represented.

“With varying degrees of accuracy, several news organizations and sources have characterized the testimony he provided in closed session. We would caution that cherry-picked elements of his testimony might not give the full picture. Ultimately, we refer those interested to the committees for the official transcript of his testimony should it become publicly available,” the statement said.

About Kent: A source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that Kent testified that he raised a question about the optics of Hunter Biden serving on the Burisma board, and he testified that he was told it wasn’t a good time to be pushing then-Vice President Joe Biden on that topic because of the declining health of Beau Biden.

The source said that Kent didn’t suggest he was alarmed at all about the matter and it was not seen as a big issue at the time.

The Washington Post first reported that Kent told congressional investigators earlier this week that he had raised concerns about the issue in early 2015.

President Trump referenced Kent by name today and said he “excoriated” the Obama administration and Joe Biden based on those reports.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA) arrive at a closed session before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees on Oct. 17, 2019 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

Democrats say the evidence they’ve gathered from current and former Trump administration officials so far has bolstered their case.

Now they contend they may not even need to talk to the anonymous whistleblower, whose complaint has touched off an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, anymore.

Here’s what we know:

Keep reading here.

Assistant Secretary of Energy Melissa Burnison told the three committees involved in the House impeachment inquiry that the Energy Department is “unable to comply with your request for documents and communications at this time.”

The letter argues about the validity of the inquiry and also contends the request is for confidential communications “that are potentially protected by executive privilege and would require careful review to ensure that no such information is improperly disclosed.”

Burnison concludes by saying the department “remains committed to working with Congress.”

CNN’s senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson looks at acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s attempt to walk back his comments on the withheld Ukraine aid in the latest episode of “The Daily DC: Impeachment Watch” podcast.

Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration “held up the money” for Ukraine because President Trump wanted to investigate “corruption” in Ukraine related to a conspiracy theory involving the whereabouts of the Democratic National Committee’s computer server hacked by Russians during the last presidential campaign.

Today, Trump told reporters that he thinks Mulvaney clarified his remarks.

In today’s podcast, Henderson also covers: 

Henderson is joined by CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez and CNN reporter Daniel Dale. 

Listen to the podcast here.

President Trump just tweeted that Secretary of Energy Rick Perry will depart the job at the end of the year.

In another tweet, the President said he’ll nominate Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to replace Perry.

Brouillette is a former executive at USAA and Ford. He also was chief of staff to the House Energy Committee. He’s a military veteran from Texas via Louisiana who has nine children.

Perry announced Thursday night in a video that he is resigning effective later this year. His resignation comes amid scrutiny over his role in the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich said today during an appearance on CNN that he now believes that President Trump deserves to be impeached.

Kasich, a Republican, said that what he’s learned about the withholding of military aid to Ukraine — which he called “totally inappropriate” and “an abuse of power” — does “rise to the level of impeachment.”

Watch the moment:

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to the media during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Oct. 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.

In case you’re just tuning in, here are the latest developments in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump:

A March 2014 photograph showing Donald Trump with a recently indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani appears to have been taken at a fashion show hosted by Ivanka Trump at the Trump National Doral in Florida, a CNN KFile review reveals. 

CNN’s KFile identified that the photo with Trump and Lev Parnas was apparently taken at a fashion show at the Cadillac Championship, an annual professional golf tournament. Donald Trump spoke at the event, according to photos and a video posted on YouTube.  

Some background: Parnas, along with his associate Igor Fruman, were arrested last week trying to leave the country and indicted on criminal charges for allegedly funneling foreign money into US elections. The two men are associates of Giuliani, an attorney for the President, and are connected to efforts to dig up dirt in Ukraine on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. 

The photo of Trump and Parnas smiling side-by-side was posted on Facebook on March 8, 2014, by user Shawn Jaros, who indicated in subsequent posts that he was a business associate of Parnas. Jaros declined to comment on the photo, as did John Dowd, a lawyer for Parnas.

Parnas’ attendance at a Trump event in 2014 raises questions about whether he had any existing relationship with the President. Trump said last week he didn’t know Parnas or Fruman. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has become increasingly frustrated in recent weeks by the departure of top State Department officials and claims that he failed to defend the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, from a smear campaign against her, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

Some context: As part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Yovanovitch testified to Congress this week that she was unfairly removed based on false claims pushed by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. 

One of the sources told CNN that Pompeo was alerted to internal and external concerns about Giuliani’s effort to push out Yovanovitch, but Pompeo failed to act — he was wary of getting too deeply involved over fears of derailing US-Ukraine policy and potentially sharing the fate of his former colleague John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser who was fired for not being aligned with the President.

President Trump was asked to clarify acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s comments in the briefing room yesterday. Trump responded: “I think he clarified it.”

Trump then dodged the question from CNN’s Jim Acosta, not discussing the briefing and instead saying he had a “tremendous day in Texas,” where he held a rally last night.

Here’s what Mulvaney said: He made a stunning admission yesterday, confirming that Trump froze nearly $400 million in US security aid to Ukraine in part to pressure that country into investigating Democrats. Hours later, he denied that he admitted to the quid pro quo in a statement.

After recapping his trip, Trump stuck to his typical lines on the impeachment inquiry, calling it a “witch hunt” and saying that “Crooked Schiff is coming after the Republican party,” referencing House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. 

Trump added that Career diplomat George Kent — who was brought in as a witness against him — ended up “excoriating” Joe and Hunter Biden.

Some background: Kent told congressional investigators earlier this week he had voiced concerns in early 2015 about Hunter Biden working for a Ukrainian natural gas company, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Citing three people familiar with the testimony, the newspaper reported that Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, recounted concerns during his testimony Tuesday that Hunter Biden’s work could undercut American efforts to convey to Ukraine the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest.

There’s no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

As they left Capitol Hill for the weekend, Democrats reacted to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s attempt to walk back his remarks on the withheld Ukrainian aide.

Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration “held up the money” for Ukraine because the President wanted to investigate “corruption” in Ukraine related to a conspiracy theory involving the whereabouts of the Democratic National Committee’s computer server hacked by Russians during the last presidential campaign.

Today, Congressman Mike Quigley, a Democrat on the House Intel committee, weighed in on Mulvaney.

Congressman Dan Kildee, a Democrat on the House Ways and Means committee, slammed the administration, describing it as “off the rails.” He said that Mulvaney had a “moment of truth” before realizing it was bad for the President and walked it back. 

“It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here,” he said.

Rep. Jim Jordan, ranking member of the House Oversight committee, said this morning that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney “clarified” his remarks as he continued to staunchly defend President Trump. 

Here’s what Mulvaney said: He made a stunning admission yesterday, confirming that Trump froze nearly $400 million in US security aid to Ukraine in part to pressure that country into investigating Democrats.

After weeks during which Trump denied the existence of any political quid pro quo in his withholding of security aid to Ukraine, Mulvaney confirmed the existence of a quid pro quo and offered this retort: “Get over it.” Hours later, he denied that he admitted to the quid pro quo in a statement.

Today, Jordan slammed the House impeachment probe as “partisan” and “unfair,” even taking a jab at Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, saying:

Asked to respond to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s quid pro quo admission on Thursday, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy argued that Mulvaney has cleaned up the statement to say there was not a quid pro quo. He also said that he does not believe Mulvaney should step down. 

He also said, “I watched in all those transcripts of what people have been saying inside the investigation, [former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt] Volker and others, there was no quid pro quo.” 

Asked if Mulvaney should step down, McCarthy replied, “No.” 

McCarthy went on to defend President Trump over Ukraine, saying, “We know more than the whistleblower knew. We have the transcripts of the phone call. The American public have seen it and no one believes there is any quid pro quo and there’s nothing impeachable in that.” 

Asked if Rudy Giuliani’s role in foreign policy was appropriate, McCarthy deflected, saying, “I think every American wants to get to the bottom. Why did we put America through that two-year nightmare. No president in a future election should have to go through what we just went through in this country …. Where did it start and why did it happen?”

McCarthy criticized House Democrats over the House impeachment inquiry, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of “misrepresenting along every step of the way.” McCarthy said there has been a “blatant abuse of power,” saying, “I heard the speaker now suggest this is an investigation phase, not actually an impeachment inquiry that she stated three weeks ago. In fact, she compares the House process now to that of a special counsel, but Adam Schiff is not a prosecutor and he’s not from the executive branch. He’s a member of Congress and that is a blatant abuse of power.” 

McCarthy said he expects a vote to censure Schiff will “come up Monday.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s comments yesterday a “confession” — and said it’s an example of the administration trying to make “lawlessness normal and even make lawlessness a virtue.” 

Pelsoi, speaking to CNN today, added that she feels Mulvaney’s comment shows “a cavalier attitude of ‘get over it.’” 

More context here: Mulvaney made a stunning admission Thursday by confirming that President Trump froze nearly $400 million in US security aid to Ukraine in part to pressure that country into investigating Democrats.

After weeks during which Trump denied the existence of any political quid pro quo in his withholding of security aid to Ukraine, Mulvaney confirmed the existence of a quid pro quo and offered this retort: “Get over it.”

Hours later, he denied that he admitted to the quid pro quo in a statement.

The Joe Biden campaign has issued the following statement to CNN in response to a report from The Washington Post that said former career diplomat George Kent told House lawmakers earlier this week during his interview in the impeachment inquiry that he had voiced concerns in early 2015 about Biden’s son Hunter working for a Ukrainian natural gas company, but was rebuffed by a Biden staffer. 

Here’s what the Biden’s spokesman, Andrew Bates had to say:

There’s no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Rep. Francis Rooney, a Republican from Florida, responded to Mick Mulvaney’s confirmation of a quid pro quo deal with Ukraine this morning, saying, “Whatever might have been gray and unclear before is certainly clear right now.”

He also did not rule out the possibility of President Trump being impeached: “I don’t think you can rule anything out until you know the facts.”

He acknowledged that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a point when she says the President’s foreign policy is benefitting Russia and Putin:

While almost every House Democrat has announced support for the impeachment inquiry, only a few Republicans have done the same.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff told CNN this morning that White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s walk back yesterday was “not the least bit credible.” 

Schiff declined to answer further questions.    

Some background: Yesterday, Mick Mulvaney admitted that President Trump froze nearly $400 million in US security aid to Ukraine in part to pressure that country into investigating Democrats. He then attempted to walk back those comments, claiming that he did not admit to a quid pro quo.

The House is continuing its impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and more witnesses are expected to testify and more subpoena deadlines are coming up.

Here’s a day-by-day look at what we’re expecting in the coming week: