This lengthy passage appears to be a transcription of remarks made by both a Democratic representative and a Republican ranking member during a hearing related to the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. In these remarks, the Democratic representative outlines allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress by President Trump, particularly in relation to his interactions with Ukraine and the withholding of military aid. The representative emphasizes the seriousness of these allegations and their potential impact on the presidency and American democracy.
The Republican ranking member, on the other hand, criticizes the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, portraying it as politically motivated and accusing the Democrats of various misdeeds, including bias, fabrication of evidence, and collusion with Ukraine.
It's important to note that this passage is a transcript of spoken remarks, and it contains detailed information about the arguments and counterarguments presented during the hearing.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text without opinions:
1. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine.
2. Vladimir Putin desired to rebuild a Russian Empire.
3. 14,000 Ukrainians died in battles against Russian forces.
4. Vladimir Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine with a platform to end the conflict and tackle corruption.
5. The impeachment inquiry questions whether President Trump sought Ukraine's interference in U.S. elections.
6. President Trump may have conditioned official acts and military assistance on Ukraine's willingness to conduct political investigations.
7. Rudy Giuliani pressed Ukraine to investigate Burisma and the Bidens.
8. Giuliani promoted the debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 U.S. election.
9. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch faced a smear campaign led by Giuliani.
10. President Trump lost confidence in Yovanovitch.
11. Ambassador Bill Taylor learned about the scheme to condition U.S. government actions on political favors by Ukraine.
12. Security assistance of nearly $400 million was frozen at the direction of President Trump.
13. President Trump had a controversial phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
14. President Trump requested investigations into the 2016 election and the Bidens.
15. President Trump's chief of staff confirmed efforts to coerce Ukraine by withholding aid.
16. Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry.
17. President Trump instructed agencies to ignore congressional subpoenas.
18. Mick Mulvaney admitted to withholding aid for political purposes.
19. Benjamin Franklin's quote about keeping the republic was mentioned.
20. Democrats accused Republicans of offenses they themselves engaged in.
These facts are presented in numerical order as requested.