Televised hearings like this are useful for:

1) confirm which journos suck up to Mark Meadows
2) reveal that not only doesn't Jim Jordan wear a jacket for a historic hearing, but he is (like so many other blustery politicians of both parties) really really short

I've long argued that the excesses of the American Empire might be credibly explain by the fact that it is run by a bunch of men with Short Man Syndrome. I stand by that.

Failed DNI nominee John Ratcliffe up first to 1) interrupt and 2) ask something of Adam Schiff that Schiff already answered last night.

Schiff reminds that this inquiry is not just abt this President, but future presidents, and whether Americans have to tolerate corruption.

Schiff notes that neither of the two favors Trump demanded on the 7/25 call were in the official prep for the call.

Schiff: "Even Sondland would describe becoming more insidious."

Schiff: He has suggested those who reveal wrongdoing be treated as traitors and spies.

Schiff: Must we simply "get over it"? Is this what Americans should now expect from their President. Does oath requiring President faithfully execute still have meaning?

Schiff: Fundamental issue is, can we keep it?

Nunes starts with a lie, that Democrats accused Trump of being an "Agent."

Note: Nunes claims Dems didn't have more than circumstantial evidence of collusion.

Evidence in the Stone trial more than meets Mark Meadows' definition of collusion.

In fact, Mueller said there was evidence of conspiracy, which is stronger than collusion.

So far, Two lies in the first seconds of Nunes' speech.

Nunes claims there were 1-sided leaks.

Lie number 3.

Nunes claims "most" GOP witnesses denied.

They got 3 witnesses.

Lie number 4.

Nunes false sais Mark Zaid called for a coup.

Lie number 5.

Nunes now complaining about projection.

Claiming Steele dossier = collusion with Russia, claims Dems defend Hunter Biden having a job.

Lies 6 and 7.

Note, Nunes claims witnesses don't know the answers on Hunter Biden.

Except a number of witnesses did testify to it.

Lie 8.

Nunes claims "Russian hoax" has ended.

No, the fully predicted investigation into Trump and his flunkies conspiracies with Russia and WikiLeaks has not.

Lie 9.

Nunes now claiming the Ukraine hoax is not one.

Had he shown up for witness testimony, he'd know how many witnesses mocked that.

Nunes claims FBI, DOJ, and State have lost faith of voters.

This is some real cynical shit from a guy suing a fake Twitter cow.

Gotta believe these diplomats who've spent so much time in oligarchies are finding this spectacle really unsettling.

Now Elise Stefanik interrupts to pretend she doesn't know Schiff has already answered this question. Obstruction number 2.

Now Conaway interrupts, and demands they call the whistleblower.

Obstruction number 3.

Jodran interrupts without formally asking to.

Obstruction number 4.

Schiff: As the gentleman knows, that's a false statement, I do not know the identity of the whistleblower.

Kent raises his ancestors who've served the country, including one who was on the Bataan Death March.

Such attacks came from the Russians, Ukrainian proxies, and some Americans, including those who allied themselves with corrupt Ukrainians, attack Americans. Those attacks undermine US and Ukrainian national interest.

Kent thanks Congress for funding Ukraine, talking about the benefits.

A reminder that Trump refused to release funds Congress wanted spent.

Kent's point that any investigation should go through our DOJ is important. The way in which the key players bypassed Bruce Swartz is going to become a big issue by the time this is done.

48 minutes into this, Kent invokes Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who have already been indicted for related conduct.

Kent says State has refused to give any guidance on classification issues.

Fuckers.

Kent ends by giving Yovanovitch, Hill, and Vindman a shout out, compares them to Zbig and Kissinger.

Schiff making sure that the picture of the Deep State is recontextualized as patriotic Americans with a lifetime of service.

Taylor reminding the stakes: last time he was there, last week, someone died.

One important, but overlooked, detail about this hearing is that Republicans are going to have to stay, so will no longer have plausible deniability about these details.

Over/under on how many times MoCs will mispronounce Kyiv and what the most mangled mispronunciation of the day will be?

Bill Taylor includes Mick Mulvaney in the irregular channel. So 3 Amigos, Rudy, and Mick.

Taylor: It became clear to me by August that the channels had diverged.

There's a Robert Frost poem here somewhere.

Stefanik sitting next to Hurd, very smartly holds her handouts in front of her face so the cameras can't see what she just said to him.

I know we've become numb to this, but it is batshit insane that the acting Ambassador did not receive a readout of a call between Presidents.

Everyone is talking about Taylor's new disclosure, of Sondland saying things that conflict with his sworn and resworn testimony.

He's going to have a tough next 10 days.

Mark Meadows is so dumb he thinks it helps the President that the irregular channel didn't even give the Acting Ambassador a readout of the call between Presidents. https://twitter.com/RepMarkMeadows/status/1194648009461637121

*Everything* dependent on investigations.

CSPAN captures Ratcliffe looking serious about Taylor's narrative here.

Taylor summing up by describing the import of Ukraine for US national interests.

I've argued that by releasing the transcript of the call, Trump put Zelensky in a public box just like he tried to with the CNN interview. https://www.emptywheel.net/2019/10/24/how-trump-put-volodymyr-zelensky-in-a-public-box-after-all/

Schiff: Import of that is [Trump] cares more about that [investigations] than he does about Ukraine?

Taylor: Yes sir.

Taylor describing import of Ukrainian aid to strengthen their position in negotiations with Russia.

Which of course is the point.

Remember, on August 2, 2016, Trump's campaign manager discussed carving up Ukraine to Russia's benefit while discussing campaign strategy.

Taylor talking abt import of sovereignty, but one reason Putin is such an asshole is bc he has been trying to demonstrate that the US happily violates such principles of sovereignty in Iraq, Libya, and Syria.

Kind of crazy to have full screen image on WhatsApp chats with avatars included, but that's the world we're in.

Goldman getting Kent to lay out everything that was included in the quid pro quo.

Curious what people who are better at haberdashery than I make of that purple tie, btw.

Former AUSA Goldman: Did you take notes on this and other conversations?

Taylor: All of them, Mr. Goldman.

[Trump just went into fetal position.]

Goldman: Did you come to understand Sondland had direct channel of communication to Trump?

Taylor: I did.

Goldman: Even tho he said the words "no quid pro quo" he went on to describe stalemate.

Taylor: My understanding is that's what he meant by stalemate.

Goldman: President Trump believed Ukraine owed him something personally?

Taylor: Inaugural delegation, he had feeling of having been wronged by the Ukrainians, this was something he felt they owed him to fix.

Side note: Trump was basically upset that there was a shit-ton of evidence his campaign manager was a crook, as if it's not his fault for hiring a crook.

Goldman: In September, before hold became public, they believed they needed to announce investigations, correct?
Taylor: I know they were preparing CNN statement.

Taylor says he doesn't know what Ambassador Bolton had in mind by referring to a "drug deal."

Laying basis to force his testimony.

Goldman: Did you have any convos w/Ukrainians?

Taylor: I don't recall.

Goldman: Let me show you a text you wrote.

Goldman: Were you with Volker in Ukr at this time? Did you know Volker was prepping Zelensky?

After getting both Kent and Taylor to say they didn't think Ukraine knew of the hold on aid, Goldman lays out how the Ukrainians might interpret demand for favor.

Goldman: What do you understand Crowdstrike reference to be?

Kent: I hadn't heard of it at this point.

Goldman again eliciting testimony showing that the transcript supports a quid pro quo, and maps to comms with Volker in real time.

CSPAN breaks to Mark Meadows relying on Sondland testimony that is about to be revised.

Meadows now claiming Taylor's revision is a miraculous intervention. Everyone has their own interpretation of what truth is.

Definition of gaslighting.

Reporters really need to hammer Meadows about his secondhand claims--bc the President is preventing other firsthand witnesses.

Meadows now claiming that one can't understand Sondland's testimony from reading his deposition transcript, which is a weird argument given that Trump claims an incomplete transcript CAN reflect Trump's call.

Meadows now bragging about how often Trump stomps all over Congress' power of the purse.

Has he already taken over as CoS and the voters of NC just haven't been informed yet?

Meadows is mis-citing what Nellie Ohr testified. Journalists should ask him why he doesn't understand that.

For reporters who don't know the Nellie Ohr detail, what she testified is her BOSSES got info from PUBLIC Ukrainian sources (like court documents) and asked her to research them.

Having argued only firsthand witnesses can know the truth, Meadows now suggests everything Sondland knows from his firsthand calls with Trump are just opinion.

Since Meadows is so willing to go on the record, can journalists ask whether he stands by his definition of "collusion" meaning working to benefit from release of stolen Hillary emails now that sworn testimony in Stone trial shows Trump did just that?

Nunes starts by misstating scope of impeachment inquiry, pretending it's just the call.

Lie 1

Nunes now emphasizing that Taylor said Ukrainians didn't know of hold.

But ignoring that Goldman laid out evidence they did.

Nunes suggests it's cool to send his personal attorney to investigate hoaxes of meddling in elections, not clear whether he means Bill Barr or Rudy G.

Nunes now describes journalists engaging in journalism, and calls it meddling in an election.

Hat tip to Ken Vogel, for getting the first shout-out for his propaganda in this hearing. I bet John Solomon is sore about that.

Nunes raises Black Ledger, but refuses to name Paul Manafort by name, I guess bc of the guilty pleas confirming the allegations in the Black Ledger.