Rise and raise your right hand.
I will begin by swearing you in.
The impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump
entered a new public phase this week
with live televised hearings from Capitol Hill.
House investigators have spent more than a
month questioning witnesses behind closed
doors in a secure facility well under the capital.
But on Wednesday, the curtain was lifted
and hearings began to take place for members
of Congress and the world.
Two career diplomats gave evidence on Wednesday.
Bill Taylor, he's the top US diplomat in Ukraine right now,
and George Kent, who's a senior State Department official.
A lot is riding on these live televised hearings
as Democrats seek to convince the American public
that President Trump is not fit for office.
Back in the '70s, televised hearings
were key to building the case against Richard Nixon, who
ultimately resigned before he could be removed from office.
At this stage, the public is sharply divided on
whether or not President Trump should
be impeached and removed.
Right now, the latest polls show that just over half
of Americans think that he should be impeached,
but less than half think that he should actually
be removed from office following a Senate trial.
On Wednesday, Bill Taylor revealed
that one of his staffers had overheard a conversation
that Mr Trump had had on the phone with Gordon Sondland.
Gordon Sondland is the US ambassador to the EU,
and he's been a central figure in the impeachment inquiry so
far.
Last Friday, a member of my staff
told me of events that occurred on July 26th.
While Ambassador Volker and I visited the front,
as a member of my staff accompanied
Ambassador Sondland, Ambassador Sondland met with Mr Yermak.
Following that meeting, in the presence
of my staff at a restaurant, Mr Sondland called President Trump
and told him of his meetings in Kyiv.
The member of my staff could hear President Trump
on the phone asking Ambassador Sondland
about the investigations.
Ambassador Sondland told President Trump
the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.
Following the call with President Trump,
the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland
what President Trump thought about Ukraine.
Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more
about the investigations of Biden, which
Giuliani was pressing for.
On Friday, Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador
to Ukraine, appeared on Capitol Hill as well.
She has accused the president of leading a co-ordinated campaign
against her that led to her removal
from that post in May of this year.
Right now, it's hard to tell whether public opinion has
shifted off the back of these public hearings,
but it is clear that they're getting
under the president's skin.
On Friday, while Marie Yovanovitch was testifying,
the president tweeted attacks against her.
Trump said on Twitter: "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch
went turned bad."
I mean, I can't speak to what the president is trying to do,
but I think the effect is to be intimidating.
Well, I want to let you know, ambassador, that some of us
here take witness intimidation very, very seriously.
It's been a busy week, but it's only the beginning.
At least eight witnesses are scheduled
to testify in more live hearings next week.
They're going to include Alexander Vindman, the US
Army officer and National Security Council
member, and Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU.