Always leaving love behind i believe i believe yes i do that everything we lose will be a gift in time i believe i believe yes i do but the hardest part is leaving love behind this is lignightline. Tonight, the impeachment pressure. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. The first public hearings. Revealing allegations raising new questions about the president s conduct. His response was that President Trump cares more bide that right . And president and voters weighing in tonight. Im starting to change my mind a little bit. In is a sham and shouldnt be allowed. So what happens next in this capitol hill showdown. Nightline will be right back. Blow a kiss, into the sun we need someone to lean on blow a kiss, into the sun all we need is somebody to lean on kerrygold has a taste so rich it can take you to irelands lush, green pastures. Where grassfed cows produce rich, creamy milk for a truly delicious taste. Kerrygold. The taste that takes you there. Good evening. Thank you for joining us. The historic day in our nations capital. The first public impeachment hearing that may shape the future of the trump administration. Now the key piece of evidence raising new questions tonight. Here is abcs david wright. Reporter today on capitol hill, history in the making. Good morning, everyone. Reporter nearly 50 years after watergate this is the first in a series of public hearings the committee will be holding as a part of the houses impeachment inquiry. Reporter 20 years after bill clintons impeachment. This is a carefully orchestrated media smear campaign. Reporter a rare ritual of our democracy took center stage in the largest and most ornate hearing room in the house. This spectacle is doing damage to our country. Its nothing more than an impeachment process in search of a crime. Reporter public impeachment hearings to determine if the president tried to enlist a foreign ally to dig up dirt on a political rival. The matter is as simple and as terrible as that. Reporter using as leverage the promise of a white house visit and millions of dollars in military aid already appropriated for ukraine. Is this what americans should now expect from their president . If this is not impeachable conduct, what is . Reporter the first witnesses, two Career Foreign Service officers. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth . Reporter on the left, in the bowtie there, thats americas Top State Department official for eastern europe, george kent. On the right, americas senior diplomat in ukraine, bill taylor. Ambassador taylor, in your decades of military service and Diplomatic Service representing the United States around the world, have you ever seen another example of foreign aid conditioned on the personal or political interests of the president of the United States . No, mr. Goldman, i have not. Reporter the days biggest bombshell came from taylor who testified that an Embassy Staff member overheard President Trump on a phone call one day after his july call with the president of ukraine. At a restaurant, ambassador sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in kiev. The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone asking ambassador sondland about the investigations. Ambassador sondland told President Trump that ukrainians were ready to move forward. Reporter taylor said the staff member asked sondland what the president thinks of ukraine. Ambassador sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of biden, which guiliani was pressing for. Reporter chairman adam schiff quickly picked up on that. This was a cell phone i take it . It was a cell phone. The president must have been speaking loud enough for your staff member to be able to overhear this . It was. And i think you said that after the call when your staff asked ambassador sondland what President Trump thought of ukraine, his response was that President Trump cares more about the investigations of biden, is that right . And burisma, yes, sir. This is a big deal, based on our knowledge this is the 1st were learning of this phone call. Gordon sondland didnt testify to this, he is expected to testify here again out in the open in another public hearing next week and there are now going to be a lot of questions about why he didnt relay this information. Reporter over at the white house. Im too busy to watch it. Its a witch hunt. Its a hoax. Reporter President Trump insisted he was too busy meeting with the president of turkey to pay much attention to the impeachment hearings. I havent watched for one minute, because ive been with the president , which is much more important as far as im concerned. This is a sham, and it shouldnt be allowed. Reporter as for that phone call with Gordon Sondland, trump said it didnt ring any bells. First time ive heard it. The one thing ive seen that sondland said is that he did speak to me for a brief moment and i said no quid pro quo under any circumstances. And thats true. And the other, ive never heard this. Reporter from start to finish, the questioning was bitterly partisan. Democrats, eager to make the case that the president put his own political interests ahead of the National Interest through a shadow Foreign Policy spearheaded by rudy giuliani. What interest you believe he was promoting, mr. Kent . I believe he was looking to dig up political dirt against a potential rival in the next election cycle. Ambassador taylor, what interests do you believe he was promoting . I agree with mr. Kent. Reporter the republicans raised doubts at every turn. You didnt listen on President Trumps call and president zelenskys call . I did not. You never talked with chief of staff mulvaney. I never did. You didnt meet the president. That is correct. President zelensky never made an announcement. This is what i cant believe. And youre their star witness. Youre theyre their first witness. Let me just say that i dont consider myself a star witness for anything. They do. I dont. Reporter one republican called this a low rent ukrainian sequel to the russia probe. Insisting theres not even any proof of a crime. The Security Assistance was provided to ukraine without the ukrainians having done any of the things they were supposedly being blackmailed to do. For the millions of americans viewing today, the two most important facts are the following. Number one, ukraine received the aid. Number two, there was, in fact, no investigation into biden. Reporter democrats quickly countered thats only because the anonymous whistleblower sounded the alarm. On september nine, when the Inspector General informed congress that that complaint had been withheld, the white house also learned that congress now inevitably would learn about the complaint. It was less than 48 hours later that the military aid would be released. Reporter for members of congress, this is a marathon. Early this morning, we traveled to the capitol with maryland democrat jamie raskin, a member of house judiciary, the committee ultimately responsible for drafting articles of impeachment. I think their testimony is going to have an extraordinary consequence across the country as people absorb the shock of what theyre seeing. Reporter over the course of the day, raskin grew increasingly frustrated with his republican colleagues. I was dismayed that the republicans chose to recycle all of the discredited and debunked conspiracy theories about the past. Reporter but Barbara Comstock takes a different view. Shes a former republican congresswoman from virginia, a veteran of the clinton impeachment. Its being looked upon as a partisan process because thats what its been before. Reporter the partisan divide you saw is also the divide in the country. Democrats called these paragons of the establishment. These men who had given their life to the values, the institutions that are at the highest levels of the american establishment. And for a lot of americans, they dont trust that establishment anymore. They trust President Trump. Adam schiff has no credibility. Reporter today at trump tower, some of the president s most ardent fans hatewatched the hearings in the lobby bar. Our president is working. This is not stopping what hes doing. You see it every day. Hes being successful, hes winning. And were not tired of winning. Like he said, were still kicking their [ bleep ]. Reporter but out in the country, the polls show americans split down the middle over impeachment. 49 percent say the president should be impeached and removed from office. The rest not convinced. So, we asked our intrepid Campaign Reporters to take the pulse among voters in three early primary states. Iowa, new hampshire, and South Carolina. Im sam sergi in des moines iowa and we are 82 days away from the iowa caucuses. Reporter voter Stephanie Morrison told sam she found the hearings unexpectedly informative. I had an opinion, an idea about the impeachment, that it perhaps wasnt a great thing. Listening to the details from ambassador taylor, i believe. Its starting to change my mind a little bit with his details and his such detailed notes. Im chris donato in concord, new hampshire, home of the first in the nation primary. Reporter in new hampshire, chris found that that impeachment wasnt must see tv. Did you watch at all . I was out hunting today, its the first day deer season i think we would rather come to sams and walmart than watch the impeachment hearings. I think it is such a political exercise on both sides of the issue. Im Briana Stewart in South Carolina people in this state prides itself on being the first in the south, the 4th state to cast their vote in the primary election. Reporter briana, our South Carolina reporter, got a mixed reaction today. Everyone needs to be held accountable at the same level. Normal person or the president so i think that should be our top priority right now. Do you care about this impeachment process . Oh absolutely, yes its the leader of our country getting impeached that doesnt happen often, i hope it doesnt happen. Reporter todays hearing also touched on who hasnt been called to testify yet. There is one witness, one witness they wont bring in front of us. They wont bring in front of the american people. Thats the guy who started it all, the whistleblower. Thank you. I say to my colleague, ive be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President trump is welcome to take a seat right there. Reporter democrats rejected a republican motion to subpoena the whistleblower to testify behind closed doors. Meanwhile, there are plenty of others, with firsthand knowledge, that the white house is blocking from appearing. I think its important for the public and for that process to have more of the witnesses in front of them and including firsthand witnesses like rudy giuliani, mick mulvaney, john bolton who so far the president does not want to testify. Reporter none of which will make the impeachment process any shorter. But if lawmakers hope to build any consensus, its important to get all the facts. Today clearly today was just the beginning. Reporter up next, breaking down todays testimony, our Political Team standing by. W, t. Things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free to bare my skin yeah thats all me. Nothing and me go hand in hand nothing on my skin thats my new plan. Nothing is everything. Keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. Of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. And skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. I see nothing in a different way and its my moment so i just gotta say nothing is everything skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. 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Unwrap more cozy this holiday with a faux minktosherpa comforter. Plus, 21. 99 sweaters for her. Jcpenney. wholding you back . Excessive underarm sweating qbrexza is the first and only oncedaily prescription cloth towelette approved to treat excessive underarm sweating. Also known as axillary hyperhidrosis. Open one today and see what unfolds. man vo do not use qbrexza if you have certain medical conditions. Qbrexza may cause new or worsening urinary retention, problems with control of your body temperature and blurred vision. The most common side effect reported was dry mouth. Call your Healthcare Provider if you experience side effects. woman vo imagine how life can unfold. Ask a dermatologist how you may reduce excessive underarm sweating with qbrexza. Reporter back now with a round table of our powerhouse Political Team ready to break down day one of the public impeachment hearings. Here in new york, im joined by dan abrams, abc news chief legal analyst and yvette simpson, abc news contributor and ceo of democracy for america. And in dc alex castellanos, abc news contributor and republican strategist. Candidate did the did democratss do what they needed to do . They said what we expected them to say, which is they were upset about the conduct that they saw. They believed there was a quid pro quo. We learned about an additional new witness we hadnt known about before who is going to talk about overhearing the president on the phone, talking about a different ambassador having a conversation with him, talking about exactly what the president was focussed on, which is joe biden. All of that definitely supports the democrats case. But when you ask the question, did this move the needle, did this change anything today, im not certain it did. But from the democrats perspective, theyre going to say this is the first piece in what has to be a puzzle. Youre nodding your head e f for you whats better, t movie or the book . Definitely the movie. One i think allowing attorneys to ask the questions and set the stage served the democrats as yoems yoe opposed to the back and forth. I think it created a through line easier to follow. The think the witnesses right off the bat established credibility from the beginning and made it more challenging for them to be attacked by republicans. At the end of the day, the Bigger Picture was set. And i love the bombshell that youre talking about that ambassador taylor said which is going to set the stage next week when ambassador sondland testifies that there is evidence that donald trump was involved in this issue, and not only that was pushing forward fire the investigation and that was his main objective. Thats going to be compelling as well. Alex, youre shaking your head. You completely disagree with what was said. I think what happened today is more of the same, the same argument weve heard for two and a half years. Weve been hearing that everything is a reason to impeach donald trump, and if everything is a reason, nothing is. You know, politically, i cant see how the democrats keep licking the same cold frozen metal bar and expecting their tongue not to stick. This is exactly what happened during the mueller hearings. It deflated the democratic party. Americas been required to read this big 500page murder mystery novel, but we all know how it ends. This goes over to the senate, and the senate heard nothing today that is going to make 2001 single republican senator vote to impeach donald trump, so why are we going through all this . If this is how it goes for the next week, i think the democrats are in big trouble. When asked about the hearing today, President Trump said he was quote, too busy to watch it, reiterating that its a witch hunt and hoax. You agree with that, obviously. Did President Trump watch something about him . Did he miss watching something that was all about him . I dont think so. That would be alien to his character. So no, edim sure he was watchi, but, you know, for donald trump, even impeachment is good if it gets good ratings. We should remember, though, donald trump was elected to disrupt the establishment in washington. And what are people seeing now . Two fat guys fight over a ham sandwich. Democrats and republicans fight over something thats not going to change anything and not going to make their lives better. So, in the long run, this helps donald trump. This is the Washington People hate, the washington that doesnt do anything for them. And heres donald trump, their enemy. He may be right that it may not change anything, but just to sort of throw up your arms and say oh, you know what . This is just an example of President Trump disrupting. Look, the bottom line is, to believe that, you have to completely marginalize the people we heard today, one of them being a war hero, and you saw,