8 Public Impeachment Hearings Slated For Next Week [Full Schedule]

The House Intelligence Committee announced Tuesday that it will hold public impeachment hearings for five officials who have already given closed-door depositions.

The public hearings, which began, Wednesday morning indicate that the Democrats are pushing to finish the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump by the end of the year.

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Officials set to testify publicly on Nov. 19 include Jennifer Williams, an aide to the Vice President; Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s expert on Ukraine; Kurt Volker, a former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine; and Tim Morrison, an adviser on the National Security Council.

The next day, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland; the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, Laura Cooper; and the under secretary for political affairs, David Hale are scheduled.

The week of testimonies concludes Thursday with Fiona Hill, who until August served as the top Russia policy specialist on the National Security Council. Hill’s position as the final testimony of the week indicates that Democrats believe she is a strong witness.

In her closed-door deposition, Hill testified that former national security advisor John Bolton said the negotiations with Ukraine were like a “drug deal” and warned that Trump’s personal attorney helping oversee the plan, Rudy Giuliani, was a “hand grenade” that threatened to explode and hurt those around him.

Democrats have expressed little intention in compelling Bolton’s testimony, after his attorney sent a letter stating he would only testify if a court ruled that he had to.

Of the eight witnesses, three were requested by Republicans: Volker, Morrison and Hale.