Transcripts For KPIX KPIX 5 News At 6AM 20240713

It has become the center of these impeachment proceedings. Now, as you can see, the Committee Room in the long Worth Building is already gng toromee officials who were listening in on that call. Theyll be giving public testimony. Jennifer williams, an aide to Vice President mike pence. She described President Trumps actions on that call as, quote, unusual and inappropriate. We are also going to hear from Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman. Aries the top ukraine specialist on the unusual security council. He called the president s actions troubling, disturbing, and wrong. This afternoon we will hear from former National Security council official tim morrison who also listened in to that call and former ukraine envoy kurt volker who was part of communications between ukraine and the president s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Both are witnesses the republican members of the committee asked to hear from as well. So that sets the table for us. Lets go to nancy cordes who is outside the hearing room on capitol hill. Nancy, lets talk about these witnesses today. Why do democrats consider them so important to this impeachment inquiry . Reporter because, norah, theyre going to be able to take this story inside the white house for the first time in these public hearings. As youve pointed out, both Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams were key National Security aides. They listened in on that call. They can describe the president s demeanor on the call. Vindman was so disturbed by what he heard he actually went to the top National Security council lawyer right after the call to describe what he had heard. And he was told, dont talk about this with anyone outside the white house. And then we know that call was pla placed on a highly classified servers where prying wise wouldnt be able to get a look at it. And hes also going to testify to the fact that the u. S. Ambassador to the eu Gordon Sondland is going to be testifying tomorrow told a ukrainian delegation in a meeting at the white house pointblank that they were going to need to conduct investigations into the bidens, former Vice President joe biden and his son hunter, if they wanted to secure a highly sought after meeting with the president of the United States. Vindman was there and of course, we now know that sondland was directly communicating with not just the president s acting chief of staff, but with the president himself on a regular basis tying once again, democrats say, the president himself to this pressure campaign. And, nancy, interestingly Lieutenant Colonel vindman is still detailed to the National Security council as is his brother. Also a veteran and a lawyer there. What if the president attacks these witnesses while this hearing is going on . . Reporter well, hes already attacked them so it wouldnt be he vindman and williams a never trumpers, even though there is no evidence that they held any kind of grudge against the president whatsoever or have ever expressed that. Over the weekend, the state department and the Vice President s office were both asked about this because williams, as you mentioned, is a state Department Official whos been detailed to the Vice President. Neither of them would stick up for her. The Vice President s office would only say, well, shes a state Department Official. So what we have seen repeatedly is Administration Officials refusing to defend these witness whens theyve been attacked by the president of the United States. But you know the democrats are going to be watching for that possibility today. It did not go over well when the president did it the last time on friday, even republicans told him it was not a great idea. Nancy, thank you. Want to bring in weija jiang who is at the white house. We heard nancy describe today takes us inside the white house, people who were on that call. Some who still work for the president and Vice President. What are you hearing this morning about how the white house will respond. And were going to see the president , right . We are. Hes going to vhave a meeting with his entire cabinet. And he likes for reporters to be inside because he thinks that offers transpatiencesy. We fully expect him to react to whats happening on capitol hill. The president and the white house have made their strategy incredibly clear, and that is to reuse and repurpose the same punchy, memorable lines of defense regardless of what new evidence may surface that contradicts them. So i fully expect the president will continue insisting that the call was perfect and ask the public to read the transcript for themselves, something that he blasts on twitter in all caps every couple days sometimes without context. So we are waiting for him to chime in. We know that he has watched the hearings in the past, even though he tried to distance himself by saying hes too busy for that. But, norah, you know, sources tell us here that hes deeply concerned with what happens and will likely be paying attention. Weija, thank you. Want to go quickly now to our chief washington correspondent Major Garrett as we get ready for the chairman too. Youre hearing that theres some republican lawmakers who have been weighing in with the president. What have you learned . On friday, nor rah, the president called several of his chief defenders. They told him candidly leave the tactics in the hearing rooms to us. Your tweet about Marie Yovanovitch was not helpful. It turned a day we were trying to fight tie stand still, to a net less for you and for us. Dont get on your twitter aconsidera account. Dont engage these wies at rorti rg get aret ben nanyou spoken to the involved. Were learning now that Speaker Pelosi sent a letter to her colleagues about changing the language that they use to describe this, talk about abuse of power. They know this is about winning the court of public opinion, to convince the public that this impeachment inquiry was worth undertaking. Bribery, treason and high crimes and misdemeanors are how the constitution defines Impeachable Offenses. You will hear language that these things that you hear being laid out as troubling patterns of behavior that bring you to the white house but not yet directly to the president s door are amounting to something that they can prosecute when they bring those to the Judiciary Committee to ultimately write those arms of impeachment. Thats Jennifer Williams there who of course got her career working for george w. Bush on his president ial campaign, swerved she served two republican democrats, one democratic in obama. The idea that the president has accuse her as a never trumper, i imagine well hear her respond to that today when asked about it. Yes. And namechecking those Republican People and really icons is part of her defense here. Is im not doing this for political reasons. She will lay out that more than decades she has served in the foreign service. And what you will hear from vindman as well is that theyre arcing they to arguing they took on oath to the constitution, this is not about loyalty to the president. Jennifer williams interestingly she says shes been on i think it was about a dozen of these president ial calls. She says this call july 25th was unusual and inappropriate. Lets listen in now to chairman schiff. To the house of representatives impeachment inquiry. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time. There is a quorum present. We will proceed today in the same fashion as our first hearing. Ill make ab Opening Statement and Ranking Member nunes will have an opportunity to make a statemen w w wiln to our witnesses for their openingmb wl you and respect your interest in being here. In turn, we ask for your respect as we proceed with todays hearing. It is the intention of the committee to proceed without disruptions. Atommitt isun in take all accordance with house rules and House Resolution 660. With that, i now recognize myself to give an Opening Statement in the impeachment inquiry of donald j. Trump, the 45th president of the United States. Last week we heard from three experienced diplomats who testified about President Trumps scheme to condition official acts, a white house meeting and hundreds of millions of dollars of u. S. Military aid to fight the russians on a deliverable by the new ukrainian president zelensky to politically motivated investigations that trump believed would help his reelection campaign. One of those investigations involved the bidens, and the other developed a discredited Conspiracy Theory that ukraine, and not russia, was responsible for interfering in our 2016 election. As ambassador sondland would later tell career former Service Officer david holmes immediately after speaking to the president , trump did not give a, he then used an explicative about ukraine. He cares about big stuff that benefits the president , like the biden investigation that giuliani was pushing. To press a foreign leader to announce an investigation into his political rival, President Trump put his own personal and political interests above those of the nation. He undermined our military and diplomatic support for a key ally and undercut u. S. Anticorruption efforts in ukraine. How could our diplomats urge ukraine to rowe refrain from political investigations of its own citizens if the president of the United States was urging ukraine to engage in precisely the same kind of corrupt and political investigations of one of our own citizens . At the white house, career professionals became concerned that President Trump, through an irregular channel that involved his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Eu Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Rudy Giuliani was pushing a policy towards ukraine at odds with the national interest. This morning, we hear from two of the natl securit professionho aware eulex fame whenas a tdler is a career army office, he ar, an ir veteran who was awarded a purple heart, and an officer in the pentagon. He was detailed to the white house in part to coordinate policy on ukraine in 2018. Jennifer williams is a korean Service Officer who is detailed to the office of the Vice President and responsible for europe and eurasia related issues. Foaling the phone call with president zelensky on april 21st, President Trump asked Vice President pence to represent him at zelenskys upcoming inauguration. Ms. Williams was working on logistics. Pence would be the attendee second in significance only to the president and would have sent an important signal of support to the new ukrainian president. In early may, however, Rudy Giuliani had been planning to bo to ukraine to p prents interests itite rre but had to call off the trip after it became public. Among others, giuliani blamed trump. Three days later, the president called off the Vice President s inauguration. Instead, a lower level delegation was named, Energy Secretary rick perry, ambassador sondland and ambassador kurt volker, the three amigos. Said of ron johnson and Lieutenant Colonel vindman would also attend. After returning from the inauguration, several members of the delegation briefed President Trump on their encouraging first interactions with zelensky. They urged trump to meet with ukrainian president , but trump instead criticized ukraine and instructed them to work with judy work are with rudy. A few weeks later, ambassador sondland met with colonel vindman and according to chief of staff mulvaney, the white house meeting saw the by the ukrainian president with trump what happened if ukraine undertook certain investigations. National security adviser bolton abruptly ended the meeting and said afterwards that he would not be part of whatever drug deal sondland and mulvaney are cooking up on this. Undeterred, sondland brought the ukrainian delegation downstairs to another part of the white house and was more explicit, according to witnesses. Ukraine needed to investigate the bidens or burisma if they w meeting with trump. After this discussion, which vindman witnessed, he went to the National Security councils top lawyer to report the matter. Vindm vindman was told to return with any concerns if he would find the need to do so. A week later on july 18th, the representative of Office Management and budget announced on a Video Conference call that mulvaney, at trumps direction, was freezing nearly 400 million in military assistance to ukraine which was appropriated by congress and enjoyed the support of the entirety of the u. S. National security establishment. One week after of that trump would have the infamous july 25th phone call with zelensky. During that call, trump complained that the u. S. Relationship with ukraine had not been reciprocal. Later, zelensky thanks trump for his support in the area of defense and says that ukraine was ready to purchase more javelins and antitank weapon that was among the most important deterrence of further Russia Military action. Trumps immediate response, i would like you do us a favor, though. Trump then requested that zelensky investigate the discredited 2016 Conspiracy Theory andven m ominously look into the bidens. Neither was part of the official preparatory material for the call, but they were in Donald Trumps personal interest and in the interest of his 2020 reelection campaign. And the ukrainian president knew about both in advance because sondland oblgeathers had been pressing ukraine for weeks about investigation has no the 2016 election, berries urisma and th bidens. Vindman testified that due to the unequal bargaining position of the two leaders and ukraines dependency on the u. S. , the favor trump asked of zelensky was really ademand demand. After the call, they were concerned enough to report it to the National Security councils top lawyer if the w top lawyer. It was the second time in two weeks he raised concerns with nsc lawyers. Asking him to take these investigations was inappropriate and it might explain Something Else she had become aware of, the inkplikable able hold on the money for ukraine. Zelensky must have been prepped for the call to make the connection between biden and burisma, a fact that other witnesses have now confirmed. In the weeks that follow the july 25th call, colonel vindman continued to push for a release of the military aid to ukraine and struggled to learn why was being withheld. More disturbing, word of the hold had reached ukrainian officialsplier officials prior to it becoming public. They asked vindman why the United States was withholding the aid. Although vindman didnt have an answer, he made it explicit to them at a meeting in warsaw. They needed to publicly commit to these two investigations if they hoped to get the aid. Ms. Williams, we all saw the president s tweet about you on sunday afternoon. And the insults he hurled at ambassador yovanovitch last friday. You are here today and the American People are grateful. Colonel vindman, we have seen far more skurlless attacks on your character and watched as certain personalities on fox have questioned your loyalty. I note that you have shed glad for america and we owe you an immense dead of gratitude. I hope no one on this committee will become part of those vicious attacks. Todays witnesses, like those who testified last week are here because they were subpoenaed to appear, not because they are for or against impeachment. That question is for congress, not the fact witnesses. If the president abused his power and invited foreign interference in our elections, if he sought to condition, coerce, extort or bribe an ally to aid his campaign and did so by withholding official acts, a white house meeting or hundreds of millions of dollars of needed military aid, it will be up to us to decide whether those acts are compatible with the office of the presidency. And i now recognize Ranking Member nunes for any remarks hed like to make. Thank you, gentlemen. Id like to address a few brief words to the American People watching at home. If you watch the impeachment hearings last week, you may have noticed a disconnect between what you actually saw and the Mainstream Media accounts describing it. When you saw three diplomats who dislike President Trumps ukraine policy discussing secondhand and thirdhand conversations about their objections with the trump policy. Meanwhile, they admitted they had not talked to the president about these matters. And they were unable to identify any crime or Impeachable Offense the president committed. What you read in the press were accounts of shocking, damning, and explosive testimony that fully supports the democrats accusations. If theseri,ts because this is the same per post russ reporting the media offered for three years on a russian hoax. The top news outlets in america reported breathlessly showing that President Trump and everyone surrounding him were russian agents. It really wasnt long ago that we were reading these headlines. From cnn, Congress Investigating Russia Investment Fund with ties to trump officials. This was false. New york times, Trump Campaign aides had repeated contacts with russian intelligence. Also false. Slate was a trump server communicating with russia. This was false. New york magazine, will trump be meeting with his counterpart or his handler . This was false. The guardian, manafort held secret talks with the ecuadorian embassy. Also false. Buzzfeed, President Trump directed his attorney to lie to congress about the moscow tower project. All of these were false. There was no objectivity or fairness in the medias russia stories, just as a fevered rush to tarnish and remove a president who refuses to pretend that the media are Something Different from what they really are. Puppets of the democratic party. With their bias reporting on the russia hoax, the media lost confidence of millions of americans and because they refuse to acknowledge how badly they botched the story, theyve learned no lessons and simply expect americans will believe them as they try to stoke yet another partisan frenzy. In previous hearings ive outlined three questions the democrats in the media dont want asked or answered. S, the media are trying to smother and dismiss them. Those questions start with what is the full extent of the democrats prior coordination with the whistleblower and who else did the whistleblower coordinate this effort with . The media have fully accepted the democrats stunning reversal on the need for the whistleblower to testify to this committee. When the democrats were insisting on his testimony, the media wanted it too. But things have changed since it became clear that the whistleblower would have to answer problematic questions that include these. What was the full extent of the whistleblowers prior coordination with chairman schiff, his staff and any other people he cooperated with while preparing the complaint . What are the whistleblowers political biases and connections to democratic politicians . How does the whistleblower explain the inaccuracies in the complaint . What contact did the whistleblower have with the media which appears to be on going . What are the sources of the whistleblowers information . Who else did he talk to . And was the whistleblower prohibited by law from receiving or conveying any of that information . The media have joined the democrats in dismissing the importance of crossexamining this crucial witness. Now that the whistleblower has successfully kick started impeachment, he has disappeared from the story as if the democrats put the whistleblower in their own witness protection program. My second question, what was the full extent of ukraines election meddling against thepn . In these depositions and hearings, republicans have cited numerous indications of ukraine meddling in the 2016 elections to oppose the Trump Campaign. Many had these instances were reported, including the posting of many primary source documents by veteran investigative journalist john solman. Since the democrats switched from russia to ukraine for their impeachment crusade, solomon is reporting on burisma, hunter biden and ukraine election meddling has become inconvenient for the democratic narrative and so the media is smearing and liabling solomon. They told us yesterday they would conduct a review of his reporting. Coincidently, the decision comes just three days after a democrat on this Committee Told a hill writer that she would stop speaking to the hill because it had run solomons stories and she urged the reiter to relay her concerns to hills management. So now that solomons reporting is a problem for the democrats, its a problem for the media as well. Id like to submit for the record John Solomons october 31st story entitled. I encourage readers today to read this story and draw your own conclusions about the evidence that solomon has gathered. Ask consent that be we put that this into the record, mr. Chair . Without objection. The Concerted Campaign by the media to discredit and disown some of their own colleagues is shocking. And we see it again in the sudden denunciations of New York Times reporter ken vogel as a conspiracy theorist after he covered similar issues, including a 2017 politico piece entitled ukrainian efforts to sabotage trump backfire. My third question, why did burisma hire hunter biden . What did he do for them and did his position affect any u. S. Government actions under the Obama Administration . We have now heard testimony from the democrats own witnesses that diplomats were concerned about a conflict of interest involving hunter biden. Thats because he had secured a wellpaid position despite having no qualifications on the board of a corrupt Ukrainian Company while his father was Vice President charged with overseeing ukrainian issues. After trying out several different accusations against President Trump, they settled o bribery. According to widespread reports, they replaced their quid pro quo allegation because it wasnt polling well. But if the democrats and the media are suddenly so deeply concerned about bribery, you would think they would take some interest in burisma, paying hunter biden 83,000 a month. And you think they would be interested in joe biden threatening to withhold u. S. Loan guarantees unless the ukrainians fired a prosecutor who was investigating burisma. That would be a textbook example of bribery. The media, of course, are free to act as democrat puppets and theyre free to lurch from the russia hoax to thehe pupt bu ty cannot reasonably expect do so without alienating half the country who voted for the president theyre trying to expel. Americans have learned to recognize news when they see it and if the Mainstream Media wont give it to them straight, theyll go elsewhere to find it. Which is exactly what the American People are doing. That, i yield back. Thank the gentleman. Today, we are joined by Lieutenant Colonel vindman and Jennifer Williams. Lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman is an active duty military officer who joined the army after college and served multiple tours overseas serving in south korea, germany, and iraq. He was deployed to iraq at a time of heavy fighting and was awarded a purple heart after being wounded by roadside bomb. Since 2008, colonel vindman has served as a foreign area officer specializing in eurasia serving both at home and u. S. Embassies in ukraine and russia. He has searched as a Politico Military Affairs officer for russia for the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He joined the Trump Administration in july, 2018, when he was asked to serve on the National Security council. Jennifer williams began her career in Government Service in 2005. Shortly after graduating from college when she joined the department of Homeland Security as a political appointee during the george w. Bush administration. And after working as a field representative on the 2004 bush cheney president ial campaign. She joined the foreign servicet tos inamaica, joining the offic the Vice President , she served at the u. S. Embassy of london as a Public Affairs Vice President mike pence where she serves as a special adviser on his Foreign Policy team covering europe and russia issues. In that capacity, she keeps the Vice President aware of Foreign Policy issues in europe and russia and prepares him for Foreign Policy engagements and meade meetings with foreign leaders. Two final points before witnesses are sworn. First witness depositions as part of this inquiry were unclassified in nature and all open hearings will also be held at the unclassified level. Any information that may touch on classified information will be addressed separately. Second, congress will not tolerate any reprisal, threat of reprisal, or attempt to retaliate against any official testifying before congress, oan colleagues. If you will both please rise i will begin by swearing you in. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony youre about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god . Let the record show the witnesses have answered in the. The microphones are sensitive, so please speak directly into them. Without objection, your written statement will be made part of the record. With that, ms. Williams, you are now recognized for your Opening Statement and when youre concluded, Lieutenant Colonel vindman, youre recognized immediately thereafter for your Opening Statement. Ms. Williams. Thank you, chairman schiff. Ranking member nunes and other members of the committee, for the opportunity to provide this statement. I appear today pursuant to a subpoena and am prepared to answer your questions to the best of my abilities. I have had the privilege of working as a foreign Service Officer for nearly 14 years. Working for three different president ial administrations. Two republican, and one democratic. I joined the state department in 2006 after serving in the department of Homeland Security under secretary michael churdoff. It was with great pride and conviction that i swore an oath to uphold the constitution administered by a personal hero of my, swoon lisa rice ats a career officer, im committed to serving the American People and advancing american interests abroad in support of the Foreign Policy objectives. Ive been inspired and encouraged in that journey but the thousand of other dedicated servants who im proud to call colleagues across the foreign service, civil service, military, and federal Law Enforcement agencies. I have served overseas tours in kingston, jamaica, beirut, lebanon and london united came kingdom. I have worked to serve human tear programs to serve in conflicts. In this spring, it was the greatest honor of my career to be asked to serve as a special adviser to the Vice President for europe and russia. Over the past eight months, i have been privileged to work with the dedicated and capable men and women of the office of the Vice President. To advance the administrations agenda. I have also worked closely with talented and committed colleagues at the National Security council, state department, department of defense, and other agencies to advance and promote u. S. Foreign policy objectives. In this capacity, i have advised and prepared the Vice President for engagements related to ukraine. As you are aware, on november 7bling 7th i appeared for a closed door deposition pursuant to subpoena. I would like to take this opportunity to summarize my remembering litigation about some of the event the committee may ask me about. On april 21st, zelensky won the ukrainian president ial election. On april 23rd, the Vice President called to congratulate president elect zelensky. During the call, which i participated in, the Vice President accepted an invitation to attend president elect zelenskys upcoming inauguration providing that the scheduling t hady out. Narrow window of availability at the end of may and the Ukrainian Parliament would not meet to set a date for the inauguration until after may 14th. As a result, we did not expect to know whether the Vice President would be could attend until may 14th at the earliest. And we made only preliminary trip preparations in early may. On may 13th, an assistant to the Vice President s chief of staff called and informed me that President Trump had decided that the Vice President would not attend the inauguration in ukraine. She did not provide any further explanation. I relayed tt instruction to others involved in planning the potential trip. I also informed the nsc that the Vice President would not be attending so that it could identify a head of delegation to represent the United States at president elect zelenskys inauguration. On july 3rd, i learned that the office of management and budget had placed a hold on Security Assistance designated for ukraine. According to the information i received, omb was reviewing whether the funding was aligned with the administrations priorities. I subsequently attended meetings of the policy Coordination Committee where the hold on ukrainian Security Assistance was discussed. During those meetings, representatives of the state and defense departments advocated that the hold should be lifted. Omb representatives reported that the white house chief of staff had directed that the hold should remain in place. On september 11th, i learned that the hold on Security Assistance for ukraine had been released. I have never learned what prompted that decision. On july 25th, along with several of my colleagues, i listened to a call between President Trump and president zelensky. The content of which has since been publicly reported. Prior to july 25th, i had participated in roughly a dozen other president ial phone calls. During my closeddoor deposition, members of the committee asked about my personal views and whether i had any concerns about the july 25th call. As i testified then, i found the july 25th phone call unusual because in contrast to other president ial calls i had observed, it involved discussion of what appeared to be a domestic political matter. After the july 25th call, i provided an update in the Vice President s Daily Briefing book indicating that President Trump had a call that day with president zelensky. A hard copy of the memorandum transcribing the call was also included in the book. Or not know whether the vice the transcript. I did not discuss the july 25th call with Vice President or any of my colleagues in the office of the vice presiden nsc. , i learned tha pre vice presidenould traveli t with president zelensky on september 1st. At the september 1st meeting, which iattended, president zelensky asked the Vice President about news articles reporting a hold on u. S. Security assistance for ukraine. The Vice President responded that ukraine had the United States unwavering support and promised to relay their conversation to President Trump that night. During the september 1st meeting, neither the Vice President nor president zelensky menti mentioned the specific investigations discussed during the july 25th phone call. Thank you again for the opportunity to provide this statement. Id be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Members, thank you for the opportunity to address the House Permanent Select Committee on intelligence with respect to activities relating to ukraine and my role in the events under r han two cen tas army,s an infantry officer i served multiple overseas tou including south korea and germany and i was deployed to iraq for combat operations. Oicer specializing in european and eurasia political affairs. I served in the United States embassies in kiev, ukraine and moscow, russia. In washington, d. C. I was the political military Affairs Officer for russia, the chairman of joint chiefs of staffs where i drafted the Global Campaign plan to counter russian aggression and malign influence. In july, 2018, i was asked to serve at the white house National Security council. At the nsc, im the principal adviser to the National Security adviser on ukraine and other countries in my portfolio. My role at the nsc is to develop, coordinate and implement plans and policies to mansion the full range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic National Security issues with the countries in my portfolio. My core function is to coordinate policy with departments and agencies. The committee has heard from many of my colleagues about the strategic importance of ukraine as a bulwark against russian aggression. Its important to know that our countrys policy of supporting ukrainian sovereignty and integrity, promoting prosperity and a free ukraine as a counter to russian aggression has been a consistent, bipartisan foreign objective across various administrations but both democratic and republican. And zelenskys election in 2019 created an opportunity to realize our strategic obje objecttives. In spring of 2019, i became aware of two actors, shengco and giuliani promoting false narratives that undermine the United States ukraine policy. The nsc in its intraagency partners grew increasingly concerned about the impact the information was having on our countrys ability to efforts. Zelensky was elected president of ukraine on a unity form and anticorruption platform. President trump called zelensky on april 21st, 2019, so congratulate him on his victory. I was the staff officerhe call was one of the Staff Officers who listened to the call. The call was positive and President Trump ves expressed his desire to work with president zelensky and extend an invitation to visit the white house. In may, i attend the inauguration of president zelensky as part of the delegation led by secretary perry. Following the visit, the members of the delegation provided President Trump a debriefing offering a positive assessment of president zelensky and his team. After this debriefing, President Trump signed a congratulatory letter to president zelensky and extended another invitation to visit the white house. On july 10, 2019, ukraines National Security adviser who visited washington, d. C. For a meeting with National Security adviserador volker and sondland and secreta fully anticipated t raise an issue of the meeting with between the president s. Ambassador volker cut the ted to sak about the quirement thativ specific investigations with President Trump. Following this meeting there was a short debriefing during some ambassador sondland emphasize dollars the importance of ukraine delivering the investigations into the 2016 elections, the bidens and burisma. I stated that this was inappropriate and had nothing to do with National Security. Dr. Hill also asserted his comments when proper. Following the meeting, dr. Hill and agreed to report the incident to nscs lead counsel, mr. John eisenberg. On july 21st, 2019, president zelensky won a parliamentary election in another landslide victory. The nsc proposed that President Trump called president zelensky to congratulate him. On july 25th, 2019, the call occurred. I listened on the in on the call in the situation room with white house colleagues. I was concerned by the call. Wh what i heard was inappropriate and i reported my concerns to moore eisenberg. It is improper for the president of the unid stato deman a Foreign Government investigate a u. S. Citizen and a political opponent. I was also clear that if ukraine pursued an investigation, it was also clear that if ukraine pursued an investigation into the 2016 elections, the bidens and burisma, it would be interpreted as a partisan play. This would undoubtedly result in ukraine losing bipartisan support, undermining u. S. National security and advancetion russ advance russias strategic plans in the region. When i reported on july 25th relate together president i did so out of a sense of duty. I properly reported my concerns in official channels to the Proper Authority in the chain of command. My intents to was to raise these concerns because they had significant implications for National Security for our country nifrt thought i country. I never thought id be sitting here in front of this committee. My only thought was to act properly and carry out my duty. Following each of my reports to moore ie mr. Eisenberg, i immediately returned to work. Ive focus obd whed on what iv throughout my career. Say that t cract on rableublicnts is reprehensible. Its natural to disagree and engage in spirited debate and this has been the custom of our country since the time our founding fathers. But we are better than personal attacks. The uniform i wear today is that of a United States army is that of the United States army. The members of our volunteer force are made up of a patchwork of people from all ethnicities, sober y soberio economy economy backgrounds who come together to protect the United States of america. We do not serve any political party, we serve the nation. Im humbled to come before you today as one of many who serve in the most distinguished and able military in the world. The army is the only provision ive ever kno prot been anoouxt month si familrriv, he left behind his entire life and the only home he had ever known to start over in the United States so his three sons could have a better and safer lives. His courageous decision inspired a deep sense of gratitude in my brothers and myself and instilled in us a sense of duty and service. All three of us have served or are currently serving in the military. My little brother sits behind me here today. Our collective military service is a special part of our familys history, a story in america. I also recognize that my simple act of appearing here today, just like the courage of my colleagues who have also truthfully testified before this committee would not be tolerated in many places around the world. In russia, my act of expressing concern to the chain of command in an official and private channel would have severe personal profession repercussions and offering public testimony involving the president would surely cost me my life. Im grateful for my fathers brave act of hope 40 years ago and for the privilege of being an american citizen and Public Servant where i can live free and free of fear for mine and my familys safety. Dad, im sitting here today in the u. S. Capitol talking to our tour elected professionals is proof that you made the Rate Decision 40 years ago to leave the soviet union and come here to the United States of america in search of a better life for our family. Do not worry, i will be fine for telling the truth. Thank you again for your consideration. Ill be happy to answer your questions. Thank you, colonel. Thank you, ms. Williams. Colonel, your brother and family are more than welcome here. Grateful to have them with us. We will proceed with the first round of questions as detailed in the memo provided to committee members. There will be 45 minutes of questions conducted by the chairman or majority council, followed by 45 minutes for the Ranking Member or minority counsel approximately that time may not be delegated to other members. Following that return less i specify an additional equal time for extended questioning, well proceed under the fiveminute rule and every member will have a chance to ask questions. And i recognize myself for majority counsel for the first 45 minutes. Before we get into the substance of your testimony, ms. Liams, itou about a phone call between Vice President pence and on september 18th. Were you on that call . I was. Did you take notes of the call . Yes, sir. Is there somethibout tha call that you thi may be relevant to our investigation . As we discussed with the committee, the office of the Vice President has taken the position that september sir, could you move the microphone a little closer to you. As weve previously discussed with both majority, minority staff of the committee, the office of the Vice President has taken the position that the september 18th call is classified. As a result, with respect to the call, id refer the committee to the Public Record which includes ms. Williams november 7th testimony which has been publicly released as well as the public readout of that call which is previously been issued by the white house. Beyond that, given the position of the Vice President s office on classification, ive advised ms. Williams not to answer further questions about that call in an unclassified setting. Thank counsel. Ms. Williams, ill ask you in this setting whether you think theres something relevant to our inquiry in that call and whether, if so, youd be willing to make a classified submission to the committee . I would also refer to my testimony that i gave in the closed session and im very happy to appear before a classified setting discussion as well. May not be necessary for y to appear if youd be willing to commit the information in writing to the committee. Id be happy to do so. Thank you. Colonel vindman, if i could turn your attention to the april 21st call that is the first call between President Trump and president zelensky. Did you prepare talking points for the president to use during that call . Yes, did i. And do those talking points include rooting out corruption in ukraine . Yes. That was something that the president was supposed to raise the conversation with president zelensky . Those were the recommended talking points that were cleared through the nsc staff for the president , yes. Did you listen in on that call . Yes, i did. The white house has now released the record of that call. Did President Trump ever mention corruption in the april 21st call . To the best of my recollection, did he he did not. On the april 21st call, President Trump told president zelensky i would send a high ranking official to the inauguration. Was it your understanding that the president wanted the Vice President to attend the inauguration in kiev, ms. Williams . Yes, that was my understanding. And did the president subsequently tell the Vice President not to attend the inauguration . I was informed by our chief staffs office, staff office that the president had told him not attend. I did not witness that conversation. Am i correct that you learned this on may 13th, is that right . Thats correct. Am i also correct that the inauguration date had not been set by may 13th . Thats correct. Do you know what accounted for the president s decision to instruct the Vice President not to attend . I do not. Colonel vindman, you were a member of the u. S. Delegation to the inauguration on may 20th, is that correct . Yes, chairman. And during that are trip, did you have an opportunity to offer any advice to president zelensky . Yes, chairman. What was the advice that you gave him . During the bilateral meeting in which the holdout delegation was meeting with president zelensky and his team, i offered two pieces of advice. To be particularly cautious with regards to ukraine to be particularly cautious with regards to russia and its desire to provoke ukraine. And the second one was to stay out of u. S. Domestic policy. You mean politics . Politics, correct. And why did you feel it was necessary to advise president zelensky to stay away from u. S. Domestic politics . Chairman, in the march and april time frame it became clear that there were there were actors in the u. S. Public actors, nongovernmental actors that were promote egg ting the investigators and 2016 ukrainian interference. And it was consistent with u. S. Policy to advise any country, all the countries in my portfolio, any country in the world to not participate in u. S. Domestic politics. So i was passing the same advice consistent with u. S. Policy. I know mr. Goldman will have more questions about that when i turn to him. But let me turn, if i can, to the hold on Security Assistance which i think you both testified you learned about in early july. Am i correct that neither of you were provided with a reason for why the president put a hold on Security Assistance to ukraine . My understanding was that omb was reviewing the assistance to make sure it was in line with administration priorities. But it was not made more specific than that. Colonel vindman. That is consistent. The review was 10 to sure it to remained consistent with administration policies. Colonel vindman, you attended a meeting on july 10th where ambassador sondland interjected to respond to a question by a whoois white house visit. What did he say at that time . To the best of my recollection, ambassador sondland said that in order to get a house meeting, the ukrainians would have to provide a deliverable, which is investigations, specific investigations. And what was the mr. Boltons response or reaction to that comment . We had not completed all of the agenda items and we still had time for the meeting and ambassador bolton abruptly ended the meeting. Did you report this incident to the National Security Council Lawyers . Yes, did i. Based on ambassador sondlands remark at the july 10th meeting, was it your clear understanding that the ukrainians understood they had to commit to investigations President Trump wanted in order to get the h meeting . It may not have been entirely clear that the moment. Certainly ambassador sondland was calling for these meetings and he had he had stated that his he had this this was developed per conversation with the chief of staff, mr. Mick mulvaney. But the connection to the president wasnt clear at that point. But the import of what ambassador sondland said during that meeting was that there was an agreement with Mick Mulvaney that zelensky would get the meeting if they would undertake these investigations . That is correct. About two weeks after that july 10th meeting, President Trump and president zelensky had their second call, the now infamous july 25th call. Colonel vindman, what was your realtime reaction to hearing that call . Chairman, without hesitation i knew that i had to report this to the white house counsel. I had concerns and it was my duty to report my concerns to the proper proper people in the chain of command. And what was your concern . Well, chairman, as i said in my statement, it was inappropriate it was improper r the president to request to demand an investigation into a political opponent, especially a foreign power where theres, at best, dubious belief that this would be a completely impartial investigation. And that this would have significant implications if it became Public Knowledge and it would be perceived as a partisan play. It would undermine our ukraine policy, and it would undermine our National Security. Colonel, youve described be this as a demand, this favor that the president asked. What is it about the relationship between the president of the United States and the president of ukraine that leads you to conclude that when the president of the United States asks a favor like this its really a demand . Chairman, the culture i come from, the military culture, when a senior asks you do something, even its polite and pleasant, its not its not to be taken as a request, its to be taken as an order. In this case, the power disparity between the two leaders, my impression is that in order to get the white house meeting, president zelensky would have to deliver these investigations. Ms. Williams i think you described your reaction in your deposition as when you listened to the call as you found it unusual and inappropriate. But i was struck by Something Else you said in your deposition. You said that is shed some light on possible other motivations behind a Security Assistance hold. What did you mean by that . Mr. Chairman, i was asked during the closeddoor testimony how i felt about the call. And in reflecting on what i was thinking in that moment, it was the first time i had heard internally the president reference particular investigations that previously id only heard aboutou mr. Giulianis press interviews and press reporting. So in that moment, it was not clear whether there was a direct connection or linkage between the ongoing to hold on Security Assistance and what the president may be asking president zelensky to undertake in regard to investigations. So it was it was noteworthy in that record. I did not have enough information to draw any firm conclusions. But it raised a question in your mind as to whether the two were related . It was the first i had heard of any requests of ukraine which were that specific in nature. So it it was noteworthy to me in that regard. Both of you recall president zelensky in that conversation raising the issue or mentioning burisma, do you not . Thats correct. Correct. And yet the word burisma appears nowhere in the call record thats been released to the public, is that right . Thats right. Correct. Do you know why thats the case . Why that was left out . I do not. I was not involved in the production of that transcript. I attributed that to the fact that this transcript that is being produced may have not caught the word burisma and it was in the transcript thatas re released, it was released as the company, which is which is accurate, its not a significant omission. Colonel, you pointed out the fact that that word was used, did you not . Correct. And yet it was not included in the record released to the public. Thats right. I would say its informed speculation that the folks that produce these transcripts do the best they can and they just didnt catch the word and that was my responsibility to to then make sure that the transcript was as accurate as possible and thats what i attempted to do by putting that word back in because that was in my notes. I think, colonel, you testified in your deposition that you find it striking that zelensky would bring up burisma, that it indicated to you that he had been prepped for the call to expect this issue to come up. What led youohatconclusion . It seemed unlikely that he would be familiar with a in the context of a on the broa relationship. And it seemed to me that he was either tracking this issue because it was in the press, or he was otherwise prepped. Mr. Goldman . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good morning, to both of you. On july 25 at approximately 9 00 a. M. Awe were both sitting in the situation room. Probably not too much further away than you are right now. You were preparing for a longawaited phone call between President Trump and president zelensky. Colonel vindman in advance of this phone calid