CAFE Insider 11/18: Can I Get A Witness?

CAFE Insider

In this episode of the CAFE Insider podcast, “Can I Get A Witness?,” co-hosts Preet Bharara and Anne Milgram break down the latest developments:

-- The House Intelligence Committee completed its first set of public hearings last week featuring startling testimony from diplomats Bill Taylor, George Kent, and Marie Yovanovitch.

-- In a closed-door deposition on Friday, State Department aide David Holmes testified to a troubling call he overheard between EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland and President Trump.

-- The public will hear from eight more witnesses this week, including Ambassador Sondland who has first-hand knowledge of key events under investigation.

We hope you’re enjoying CAFE Insider. Email us at [e-mail] with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Anne.

REFLECTIONS ON LAST WEEK’S PUBLIC HEARINGS

• Radio host Rush Limbaugh called Bill Taylor and George Kent “self-important nerds,” 11/13/19
• Fox News host Jeanine Pirro criticized George Kent’s sartorial choices, 11/17/19
• “AP Explains: What’s wrong with hearsay evidence in Congress?,” AP, 11/15/19
• “Why Trump’s “state of mind” will be key in impeachment,” Quartz, 11/2/19

THE QUESTIONERS’ STRATEGIES

• “Meet the two seasoned staff prosecutors now in impeachment spotlight,” NBC News, 11/15/19
• “GOP woman gets outsized role at impeachment hearing,” AP, 11/16/19
• “Elise Stefanik’s Questioning During Impeachment Hearings Draws GOP Cheers,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/16/19
• House resolution (H.Res.660) outlining procedures for the impeachment inquiry into the president, 10/31/19

PUBLIC TESTIMONY OF GEORGE KENT & BILL TAYLOR

• Transcript of Kent’s and Taylor’s public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on November 13
• “5 takeaways from Bill Taylor’s and George Kent’s impeachment testimony,” The Washington Post, 11/13/19

CLOSED-DOOR TESTIMONY OF DAVID HOLMES

• Opening statement of David Holmes during his closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on November 15
• “A Friday night surprise: David Holmes throws a wrench in Trump’s impeachment defense,” The Washington Post, 11/16/19
• “Russian spies likely intercepted ambassador’s cell phone call with Trump,” CNN, 11/14/19
• Full transcript of October 17 testimony of Gordon Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the E.U., 11/6/19
• Sondland’s addendum to his October 17 testimony, 11/4/19

PUBLIC TESTIMONY OF MARIE YOVANOVITCH

• Memorandum of July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 9/24/19
• Transcript of Yovanovitch’s public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on November 15
• 18 USC § 1512: Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant
• Trump’s tweet criticizing Yovanovitch while she testified, 11/15/19
• “Trump Attack on Envoy During Testimony Raises Charges of Witness Intimidation,” The New York Times, 11/15/19
• Trump’s tweet calling Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, a “Never Trumper,” 11/17/19
• Stay Tuned with Preet: Impeachment Hearing & The Story of America (with Jill Lepore), 11/14/19

WEEK 2 OF PUBLIC HEARINGS

• “Impeachment Public Hearings Week 2 — Who Is Testifying And What Happens Next,” NPR, 11/18/19
• House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s tweet announcing that eight more witnesses will publicly testify, 11/12/19
• “Senior national security official ties key official more closely to Trump on Ukraine in impeachment inquiry,” The Washington Post, 11/16/19

ROGER STONE FOUND GUILTY

• Indictment of Roger Stone, 1/24/19
• “From Organization 1 to Person 2: Who’s Who in the Roger Stone Indictment,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/25/19
• “Roger Stone guilty on all counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering,” The Washington Post, 11/15/19