Did yesterday's six hour long impeachment hearings change anything? That's the question still up in the air 24 hours later. But as we wait for new polling to gauge the opinion of Americans who watched, the value of testimony given by Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, continues to come under scrutiny.
During questioning from lawmakers, both Taylor and Kent admitted neither one of them had spoken to President Trump about Ukraine. They had only heard things second or third hand from other people and weren't "familiar with his thinking."
Rep. Turner: Kent’s & Taylor’s testimonies based on “hearsay and opinion”https://t.co/yKH5cGa1Bh pic.twitter.com/NzFrP7RnqO
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 13, 2019
“What I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people.” – Bill Taylor
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) November 13, 2019
There is a legal term for this kind of testimony: HEARSAY!pic.twitter.com/9N4fUVkeKH
According to CNN legal analyst Jeffery Toobin, a staunch critic of the Trump administration, this poses a problem for Democrats banking on testimony to justify impeachment.
CNN’s Toobin: neither witness “had direct contact with the president…that’s a problem”https://t.co/fjNz4cr00Z pic.twitter.com/zKW239luNF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 13, 2019
Republicans and the White House have been making that argument that yesterday's hearing was nothing more than hearsay. Based on the witnesses' own statements and lack of direct contact with the impeachable offense in question, that is true.