Five days of impeachment hearings draw spectators and buzz – Times Union

WASHINGTON — Silent and stoic in his U.S. Marines baseball cap, Javier E. Madrid stood in vigil Thursday outside a dramatic impeachment witness hearing, the last one expected from the House Intelligence Committee.

With a large group of veterans, Madrid traveled to Washington, D.C., from Putnam County in upstate New York to urge lawmakers to support impeachment. The veterans were among many public spectators Thursday who packed the halls of the usually quiet Longworth office building, where the House Intelligence Committee questioned two more witnesses in a public hearing.

Five days of nationally televised hearings have captured the country’s attention as House Democrats conduct a rare impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump.

On Thursday, David Holmes, a political counselor in the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, told the committee about Trump’s interest in starting Ukrainian investigations into his political rival. His testimony included a description about a call between Trump and his ambassador to the European Union on July 26 — a call which was revealed in earlier public testimony last week.

Fiona Hill, a former National Security Council senior director for Europe and Russia, issued sharp criticism of Republicans on the committee for promoting the “fictional narrative” that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, not Russia. Republicans have raised the idea of Ukrainian meddling as a possible reason Trump sought investigations.

“Some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country,” Hill said. “The unfortunate truth is that Russia was the foreign power that systematically attacked our democratic institutions.”

Russia’s election-information warfare was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. intelligence committee, Hill said, calling it “beyond dispute.”

“The impact of the successful 2016 Russian campaign remains evident today,” she said. “Our nation is being torn apart. The truth is questioned.”

Hill also gave a dire warning about the 2020 election and the impact Russia could have on races for both parties.

“Russia’s security services and their proxies have geared up to repeat their interference in the 2016 election,” Hill said. “We are running out of time to stop them.”

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, pushed back against the idea that Republicans on the committee do not believe in Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“Not a single member of this committee has said that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 elections. As the ranking member stated, we published a report focused on Russian active measures in 2016 with policy recommendations as to how we strengthen our cyber resiliency and election security to counter Russia,” Stefanik said. “I, myself, have worked with members of this very committee on this issue but also on the House Armed Services Committee. So to have our Democratic colleagues say these untruthful statements just reeks of political desperation.”

In February 2018, Stefanik visited Ukraine with Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., to learn about the country’s national security concerns. She asked Hill about the importance of lethal defense tools provided to Ukraine by Trump. Stefanik also asked Hill about why the U.S. National Security Council had some reservations about scheduling a meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy before parliamentary elections were completed in that country in late spring.

Online attacks on Stefanik also received attention in the hearing. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, called them “vile.”

“I am very sorry to hear about what’s happened to Congressman Stefanik,” Hill said.

While lawmakers often traded partisan barbs in the hearing, just outside activists, tourists and students — from as far as Georgia, California and Italy — have formed long lines to try to hear a piece of the action.

On many days, members of the public made lines snaking the House office building to get into the hearing room as early as 4:30 a.m. On one day, a drag performer wearing a blond wig and sparkly red dress broadcast the action outside the hearing to her followers.

Standing near the big doors leading to the hearing room, Madrid, a veteran and immigrant from Honduras, had tears in his eyes when discussing the state of U.S. politics his young children are growing up in.

“Up until now, I’ve been supporting my family, raising my kids,” he said. “From my faith in this country and beliefs and morals that make me proud to be an American, I’ve got to be honest there hasn’t been too much for me to be feeling proud these past few years.”

Nearby, Janelle Marina Mendez of Wappingers Falls in Dutchess County, and a group of about 30 other veterans from the group Common Ground lined the hall, each sporting apparel representing the military branch they served in. Mendez said she and others had risked their lives for the U.S. and she wanted to see accountability return to American democracy.

Common Ground is part of the coalition Defend American Democracy, which has spent thousands on television advertisements pressuring Republicans to vote for impeachment, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Republicans have largely not shifted their views during the hearings. Many believe the president was interested in rooting out corruption in Ukraine and ensuring the country was not interfering in U.S. elections. They point out that the Trump administration supported Ukraine with lethal weapons and was conducting a review of foreign assistance to numerous nations. They believe Democrats are seeking to undo the results of the 2016 election with their impeachment inquiry and have previously used the investigation of former special counsel Robert Mueller to try to undermine Trump.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, was the most critical Republican of the president Thursday. He said the administration’s actions have “undermined” national security and he disagreed with “this sort of bungling foreign policy.” But he said he did not believe a compelling impeachable offense was committed.

“I’ve not heard evidence proving the president committed bribery or extortion,” he said.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee believe the 12 diplomats and administration officials who testified publicly overwhelming made the case that Trump abused his power by using U.S. military aid and a meeting at the White House as leverage to pressure Ukraine to start an investigation into the son of former vice president and 2020 candidate Joseph Biden. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company Burisma that has been previously investigated for corruption.

“It is in my view a clear betrayal of the president’s oath of office,” said U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., closed the hearing with his most impassioned speech in two weeks. He reminded listeners of the actions that lead to former President Richard Nixon’s eventual resignation.

“What we have seen here is far more serious than a third-rate burglary of the Democratic headquarters,” Schiff said. “What we are talking about here is the withholding of recognition in that White House meeting, the withholding of military aid to an ally at war. That is beyond anything Nixon did.”

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