Diplomats describe Ukraine buzz at White House

WASHINGTON—With the first public impeachment hearing completed, House Democrats and Republicans are fighting to win over a polarized American public to their interpretation of events.

What did we learn from Wednesday’s hearing? Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent described President Donald Trump’s attempts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Taylor testified that a staff member told him about overhearing a phone call between Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in which the president asked about the “investigations.” Republicans pointed out that the diplomats relied on secondhand accounts of Trump’s July 25 phone call that ignited the impeachment investigation and this latest phone call. Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will testify next on Friday.

Dig deeper: Watch Wednesday’s hearing on C-SPAN.