Testimony at 1st impeachment hearing: Trump asked about Ukraine 'investigations'

The historic first public impeachment hearing ended Wednesday with Democrats hoping to have made their case to millions of Americans watching on television that President Donald Trump's conduct has been so serious he deserves to be removed from office.

They called two star witnesses to testify in open session: Ambassador William Taylor, the United States' top diplomat in Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, the State Department's top career official focused on Ukraine.

Democrats are striving to prove that Trump betrayed his oath of office by withholding military aid to Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy initiated investigations to benefit Trump's "personal political interests in the United States" -- primarily through a corruption investigation into the Biden family. Republicans argue there was "no conditionality or evidence of pressure" in the rough White House transcript of Trump's July 25 call with Zelenskiy.

In the most significant development, Taylor on Wednesday revealed new details about comments Trump allegedly made about the status of "investigations" and the Bidens on a July 26 call with Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, just after he met with Ukrainian officials.

Here is how the hearing unfolded.

3:36 p.m.

Chairman Schiff dismissed the witnesses, announcing that the testimony portion of the hearing had concluded.

In his closing remarks, he praised members who he said had acted in a civil matter, despite what he said were the "strong feelings" in the room.

"That is as it should be," Schiff said.

3:10 p.m.

After Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, spent his five-minutes defending Trump's actions and accusing Democrats of denying them the ability to question the whistleblower -- "the guy who started it all" Jordan said -- Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., quickly responded.

"I say to my colleague, I've be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there," he said, motioning to the witness table.

After that, Welch, like Jordan, did not spend his time questioning the witnesses, but began laying out Democrats' closing argument on today's hearing.

"The question here is not a dispute about the enormous power that a president has. The question is whether in this case there was an abuse of that power," Welch said.

2:59 p.m.

Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro attempted to strike at a GOP oft-repeated talking point that there was no quid pro quo because Ukraine ultimately received the military and there was no investigation of the Bidens, ABC's Trish Turner reports from the hearing room.

"So, ambassadors, is attempted murder a crime?" Castro asked Kent and Taylor.

"Attempted murder is a crime," Taylor answered

"Is attempted robbery a crime?" Castro then asked.

"Neither of us is a lawyer. But ..." Taylor started to answer.

"I think anybody in this room could answer that question," Castro said.

"I think that's right. I will go out on a limb and say yes, it is," Taylor said.

2:40 p.m.

There was about 50 minutes of questioning left in the hearing, with 10 members remaining with five minutes each. Schiff is free to question witnesses again after all the members finish, even if he doesn't formally hold a second round of questions, ABC News' Benjamin Siegel reports from the hearing room.

Apparently, there will not be an additional round of questioning after this current five-minute round. After the members finish, Schiff and Nunes will have an opportunity to ask additional questions, and give closing statements.

2:10 p.m.

Under questioning from Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, Kent says any comparison of what Joe Biden did to what President Trump was asking of Zelenskiy is not appropriate – not the same thing, reports ABC News' Trish Turner from the hearing room.

When Himes followed up to ask if Kent saw President Trump engaging in focused policy to counter corruption in Ukraine, Kent responded “I do not.”

“I don't think President Trump was trying to end corruption in Ukraine,” Himes said at the end of his questioning. “I think he was trying to aim corruption in Ukraine at Vice President Biden and at the 2020 election.”

2:01 p.m.

Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe cited multiple statements from Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to reporters saying he did not think there was blackmail in the conversation with President Trump.

“The Ukrainian president sitting in front of the world press and repeatedly, consistently over and over again, no military aid being withheld, no knowledge, no quid pro quo, no pressure, no demands, no threats or corruption and unlike we've heard from the Democrats today that's not secondhand information, not hearsay what someone overhear and Sondland say, that was his direct testimony,” Ratcliffe said.

“In this impeachment hearing today where we impeach presidents for treason, bribery or other high crimes where is the impeachable offense in that call? Are either of you here to say there was an impeachable offense in that call. Shout it out. Anyone?” he said to no immediate response from Taylor or Kent.

Ratcliffe withdrew the question after Taylor began to respond, but Taylor responded by repeating his comments that he is not testifying to what the conclusion of the impeachment inquiry should be.

“I would like to say I'm not here to do anything having to do with decide about impeachment. That is not what either of us are here for. This is your job,” Taylor said.

1:49 p.m.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan noted that Taylor’s testimony on the July 25 call was based on secondhand knowledge, commenting that Taylor is a weak “star witness” for Democrats, since he never spoke with President Trump, a key part of the GOP defense reports ABC's Benjamin Siegel from the hearing room.

“We've got six people having four conversations in one sentence and you told me this is where you got your clear understanding,” Jordan said, speaking of text messages Taylor and others exchanged about whether aid was conditioned on Ukraine agreeing to investigations. “Based on this I’ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this,” he added later.

Taylor agreed that he was not on the president's call in question himself and that he didn’t claim any firsthand knowledge, saying he doesn’t consider himself a “star witness” for anyone.

“I think I was clear about, I'm not here to take one side or the other or to advocate any particular outcome. So let me just restate that. Second thing is that my understanding is only coming from people that I talked to,” he said.

1:24 p.m.

In analysis, ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks notes the Republican staff counsel, Steve Castor, has generally taken an aggressive and even accusatory stance toward the witnesses. That style, she says, might underline the notion that Republicans see the hearing as nothing but partisan, but it could backfire, too, if Republicans just look as if they are not playing ball.

Republicans seem to be arguing through these questions that the president or the White House was justified in having concerns about corruption. Parks says It’s worth remembering that Republicans, even more than Democrats, supported and voted for the aid package to Ukraine. Their public votes and statements at the time did not suggest they were looking for the aid to have more conditions.

In one exchange between the Republican investigator Castor and Taylor, he got Taylor to agree the backchannel for foreign policy involving the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, wasn’t “as outlandish as it could be.”

“Now, Ambassador Taylor, I want to turn to the discussion of the irregular channel you described. In fairness, this irregular channel of diplomacy, it's not as outlandish as it could be, is that correct?,” Castor asked.

“It's not as outlandish as it could be. I agree Mr. Castor,” Taylor responded.

12:42 p.m.

The committee returned starting with questions from Ranking Member Devin Nunes who continued to attack Democrats' handling of the inquiry.

ABC's Ben Siegel in the hearing room reports Nunes kicked off Republican questioning by railing against Democrats and accusing them of mischaracterizing the Trump-Zelenskiy July 25 call.

"What it actually shows is a pleasant exchange between two leaders," he said of the rough transcript. "Democrats aren't trying to find facts, they're trying to invent a narrative," Nunes said.

He briefly questioned Ambassador Taylor, after saying he would "skip" Kent given his comments in the last round (he said there was "no factual basis" for allegations that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.)

ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein notes that Nunes ended his questioning by restating a key to the GOP defense of Trump.

“I just want to be clear that some government officials opposed President Trump's approach to Ukraine, but many had no idea what concerned him. In this case, it was numerous indications of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election to oppose his campaign and support Hillary Clinton," Nunes said. "Once you know that, it's easy to understand the president's desire to get to the bottom of this corruption and to discover exactly what happened in the 2016 election.”

After 10 minutes, he kicked over questioning to Steve Castor, the chief GOP investigative counsel for the House Oversight Committee on loan to the Intelligence Committee for the impeachment hearings.

Castor is a veteran of numerous GOP investigations during the Obama years, from the IRS targeting of tea party groups, to Fast-and-Furious and Benghazi.

ABC News' legal analyst Kate Shaw says the GOP argument that there was "no quid pro quo" continues to fall apart in Wednesday's hearing.

“Today you see, the fact that you just speak the words ‘no quid pro quo’ but then everybody involved, really on both the U.S. side and even eventually on the Ukrainian side, understand that there is this linkage between the aid and the White House meetings and these investigations,” she said.

12:39 p.m

As the lawmakers took a break, ABC's Jordyn Phelps reports that ABC's Karen Travers asked President Trump during an Oval Office photo op: "Have you watched any of the hearing?"

"I’m too busy to watch it. It’s a witch hunt, it’s a hoax, I’m too busy to watch it. So, I’m sure I’ll get a report. There’s nothing," Trump responded.

At the same time, ABC's Katherine Faulders and John Parkinson report that the aide who Taylor testified as overhearing President Trump in a conversation with Gordon Sondland speaking of "investigations" is David Holmes, who has been scheduled for a closed-door deposition.

12:20 p.m.

The Democrats have finished their first round of questioning and chairman Schiff announces a five-minute break before Republicans begin their 45-minute round of questioning.

In a departure from previous hearings, Democratic Counsel Daniel Goldman had taken over the questioning, leading Taylor and Kent to repeat and highlight some of their most forceful and critical statements.

11:35 a.m.

ABC News' Ben Siegel notes Schiff, as he began his questioning, immediately asked Taylor about the new details he revealed about the account from his staffer regarding the call between Sondland and Trump.

"The president must have been speaking loudly enough for your staff member to overhear this?" Schiff asked.

"He was," Taylor replied.

"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?" Schiff asked.

"And Burisma, yes, sir," Taylor responded.

"And I take it the import of that is he cares more about that than he does about Ukraine? Schiff then asked.

"Yes, sir," Taylor responded.

ABC News' Mary Bruce notes that this is the first we've heard of this conversation that took place the day after the controversial July 25 call at the heart of the whistleblower complaint that triggered the Ukraine affair and led to the impeachment inquiry.

There have been plenty of questions about Sondland's testimony, Bruce said, noting he has updated his account after other witnesses contradicted his initial testimony. Now, even more questions about his version of events.

Sondland has testified that he couldn't remember whether he had additional phone calls with Trump and had requested records of his phone calls

His public hearing scheduled for next Wednesday just got a lot more interesting.

Schiff also asked Taylor what U.S. military aid to Ukraine buys, and what’s at risk without it.

“One of the components of that assistance is counter-battery radar. Another component are sniper weapons,” Taylor said, explaining that such weapons help the Ukrainian military deter Russian forces encroaching on their soil.

“If that further incursion, further aggression, were to take place, more Ukrainians would die,” he said.

In analysis from ABC News Deputy Political Director MaryAlice Parks, she notes that Taylor's testimony helps lay the groundwork for Democrats to argue that formal U.S. policy toward Ukraine had not changed, and so any hedging on U.S. support of Ukraine was being done through informal and irregular channels. Much of his testimony focuses on what he saw and heard about the "shadow" avenue for foreign policy outside the diplomatic norms.

Parks also points out what this says about the decisions around withholding aid to Ukraine and why Democrats want to talk to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Taylor says someone from the Office of Management and Budget told him military aid was being withheld, and that set off alarm bells to him. Mulvaney is not only the acting White House chief of staff but still technically plays a role at OMB, too. "Did he personally direct a hold on aid?" Parks asks.

11:28 a.m.

Ambassador Bill Taylor said he pushed back when his colleague, Gordon Sondland, told him “everything” was dependent upon Ukraine’s willingness to launch a politically charged investigation that included Democrat Joe Biden.

According to Sondland, Taylor said, Trump wanted Ukraine’s president in a “box” that would have forced their hand to investigate.

Taylor said he responded to Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, “President Trump should have more respect for another head of state.”

Taylor said he was told that Trump was a “businessman” who wanted Ukraine to “pay up.” Taylor said that argument “made no sense” because Ukraine didn’t owe the U.S. anything.

Taylor also said by the time the White House released the transcript of the July 25 call between Trump and Zelenskiy he understood that the term “investigations” was a reference to investigations the president wanted into the 2016 election and the Bidens.

11:18 a.m.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps reports from the White House that press secretary Stephanie Grisham says President Trump is not tuning in to this morning's hearing.

"He's in the Oval in meetings. Not watching. He's working," Grisham said.

Trump was about to meet with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was scheduled to hold a news conference mid-afternoon.

11:06 a.m.

ABC News' Katherine Faulders notes Taylor has described a previously undisclosed conversation between President Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland.

Taylor testified that an aide in the room heard Trump ask Sondland about “the investigations.”

"Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward," Taylor testified.

He said he recalls his aide asking about the conversation. “Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for,” Taylor said.

10:53 a.m.

Taylor begins his opening statement saying Ukraine is "important to the security of our country."

The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Taylor is telling a House Intelligence Committee that it would be “crazy” for the U.S. to withhold military aid.

His statement is a reference to a text he sent a colleague, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. That text exchange was obtained by Congress in the ongoing House impeachment inquiry.

“I believe that then, and I believe that now,” Taylor said.

Taylor said it was difficult for him to decide to return to Kyiv after how former Ambassador Marie Yovanovich was treated before being removed. He said he consulted both a mentor and his wife, saying his wife was “strongly opposed to the idea.”

10:41 a.m.

In his opening statement, George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, said he expected attacks from corrupt Ukrainians but was surprised to see Americans attack dedicated public servants.

He appears to be referring to an effort led Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, to discredit Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

In his phone call to Ukraine’s president, Trump said Yovanovitch was “bad news” and was “going to go through some things.”

In his closed-door interview, Kent vigorously defended Yovanovitch and said Giuliani targeted her with a “campaign of lies.”

Kent, the top Ukraine official at the State Department, is telling the House Intelligence Committee that in 2015 he warned of a perceived conflict of interest after Democrat Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, took a job as a board member on a Ukrainian gas company called Burisma.

Kent added though that he never witnessed “any effort” by a U.S. official to “shield Burisma from scrutiny.”

This statement addresses the unsubstantiated claim from Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, that Biden might have been working in his son’s best interests when leading U.S. policy in Ukraine as vice president.

10:37 a.m.

Rep. Adam Schiff is going over the military and diplomatic experience of the two witnesses, making clear that both men have vast experience as public servants.

He is pointing out Amassador Bill Taylor’s West Point education and military service, and State Department’s George Kent’s work on anti-corruption efforts.Republicans are pressing Democrats to call the whistleblower as a witness.

GOP Rep. Mike Conaway is asking that Congress subpoena the whistleblower for a closed-door session.

Schiff, the chairman said, GOP members can asking any question they want except trying to expose the whistleblower. He also said Democrats “will entertain a motion to subpoena any witness.”

“We will do everything we can to protect the whistleblower,” he said.

10:31 a.m.

Taylor and Kent are sworn in.

As the hearing gets underway, ABC News Deputy Political Director MaryAlice Parks says she’s watching for any language from Republicans about the importance of the U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

“In late September, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was not given an explanation as to why the aid was held up after Congress approved it, but said he was glad the aid was eventually released to help “our friends” in Ukraine defend themselves against Russia.

Congress approved that aid as a part of a defense package that Republicans championed even more than Democrats. (In the House, 220 Republicans and 139 Democrats voted for the defense spending. In the Senate, 46 Republicans, 40 Democrats and one independent voted to approve the bill.)

Still, in the last few weeks, some Republicans have started suggesting the stalling or bargaining with that aid was understandable. Do they double down on that argument?”

ABC News Political Director Rick Klein says he thinks there’s more pressure on Democrats going into the hearing to lay out their case against the president.

“Democrats will be under immense pressure to unearth new information from witnesses whose accounts are already widely known and to generate new headlines so as not to lose the public’s attention. Consider: If impeachment is going to succeed, the moments that get it there almost certainly haven’t happened yet. As a Democratic House member texted me last night: “I think our members need to talk less.” Good luck with that …”

Follow analysis from MaryAlice Parks and Rick Klein live on FiveThirtyEight throughout today’s hearing.

10:22 a.m.

Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes called the impeachment inquiry a “publicly orchestrated media smear campaign” in his opening statement, repeating Republican talking points that Democrats are continuing attacks against the president for political gain.

Nunes told the packed hearing room that the impeachment inquiry is part of a desperate effort by Democrats and media outlets to smear President Trump, calling the allegations “absurd.”

“This is a carefully orchestrated media smear campaign,” the California Republican said.

Nunes also revived criticism that the GOP was unfairly iced out of the process and accused Democrats of holding “secret” closed-door depositions. Republicans were included in those depositions and allowed to ask questions.

"What we will witness today is a televised, theatrical performance," Nunes said, "congratulating" the witnesses for "agreeing to participate in the drama" - the "low-rent, Ukrainian sequel" to the "Russia hoax."

He also dismissed other witnesses "secondhand" and "thirdhand" accounts of the president's phone call, and defended Trump's ability to fire his ambassadors.

As he closed, Nunes seemed to suggest that now, with this new inquiry, State Department officials have worked to undermine Trump -- a charge he leveled against FBI and Justice Department officials during the Mueller inquiry.

"Elements of the FBI, Justice Department, and now the State Department, have lost the confidence" of millions of Americans," Nunes said.

10:08 a.m.

In his opening statement, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the hearing will look at whether Trump tried to “exploit” Ukraine’s vulnerability during its military conflict and invited Ukraine to interfere in American elections.

“Our answer to these questions will affect not only the future of this presidency but the future of the presidency, itself,” he said, asking, whether "such an abuse of his power is incompatible with the office of the presidency."

Schiff is using his opening statement to go over the evidence collected so far in the impeachment inquiry including testimony of key witnesses.

He is focusing on the White House decision to freeze $400 million in aid and witness depositions that the money and other perks for Ukraine was contingent upon the government agreeing to investigate Democrat Joe Biden.

“Neither of these investigations were in the U.S. national interests,” but were in Trump’s personal interests, including his reelection, Schiff said.

10:06 a.m.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff opens the hearing.

9:59 a.m.

Republicans and Democrats set up displays of exhibits they plan to use to support their argument ahead of the hearing - Mulvaney’s presser for Dems, and a number of quotes and comments about the whistleblower from Republicans.

The committee lawyers – Daniel Goldman for the Democrats and Steve Castor for Republicans - who will question in the early extended rounds, will be sitting on either side of Schiff and Ranking member Devin Nunes.

GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who was added to the committee late, is sitting in the center on the Republican side.

9:54 a.m.

ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce on Capitol Hill reports she is told that while some political wrangling is expected, Democrats say they will stay "somber, serious and focused."

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl reports that President Trump and his GOP allies see this as an opportunity to "fight back" -- noting that neither of the witnesses claims to have communicated directly with the president.

9:32 a.m.

Senior State Department official George Kent and the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine Bill Taylor have arrived on Capitol Hill ahead of the 10 a.m. hearing start time.

Both declined to answer questions from reporters.

An official working on the impeachment inquiry confirmed Taylor and Kent were both subpoenaed before the hearing.

9:21 a.m.

ABC News' John Parkinson caught up with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi heading into a closed-door meeting with her Democratic caucus.

"Is today a make or break moment for Democrats regarding the impeachment inquiry? What are the stakes at play today?" Parkinson asked.

“We take the oath of office – all of us become custodians of the Constitution, custodians of all that is contained in it. Our system of checks and balances, separation of powers, a check on each other. Legislative – Article I – the legislative branch – that’s the Congress of the United States. Our duties are spelled out in the Constitution. Article II, the executive branch - duties spelled out; judicial branch, Article III," Pelosi answered.

"The president has said that Article II says that he can do whatever he wants. That is a rejection of the genius of the Constitution of the United States. Benjamin Franklin said, when asked coming out of Independence Hall at the time of the adoption of the Constitution – what do we have, a monarchy or a republic. He said, ‘A republic, if you can keep it. Article II says I can do whatever I want? That’s a monarchy. A system of checks and balances, that’s a republic. And we have a responsibility to keep as custodians of the Constitution – we are defenders of our democracy," Pelosi said.

"So, I’m very prayerful, thoughtful, and actually saddened today that our country has to come to a place where the president doesn’t understand that Article II does not say that he can do whatever he wants, that he is not above the law, and that he will be held accountable. I’m very proud of Adam Schiff and members of the Intelligence Committee and the other committees that have been working on defending our democracy," she told Parkinson and other reporters.

9:18 a.m.

The large Ways and Means Committee hearing room was already buzzing an hour before testimony was scheduled to begin.

ABC News’ Ben Siegel reported the first person in line to watch the hearing in person was Ed Ingber from Sarasota, who extended his vacation to Washington so he could see the proceedings in person. Ingber and others started to line up outside the hearing room at 3:30 a.m.

The leader of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, hoped Wednesday's testimony would demonstrate to Americans watching on television that Trump – directly or through agents – "sought to use the power of the Office of the President and other instruments of the federal government in other ways" to apply pressure to Zelenskiy to advance his personal political interests, including by leveraging a prospective Oval Office meeting desired by Zelenskiy or by withholding nearly $400 million of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine that had been appropriated by Congress.

Finally, Schiff worked to show that Trump and his administration sought to "obstruct, suppress or cover up information to conceal from the Congress and the American people evidence about the president's actions and conduct."

Trump has blocked nearly all of his closest advisers from cooperating in the Democratic impeachment inquiry, including his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, John Eisenberg, legal adviser to the National Security Council, and Eisenberg's deputy, Michael Ellis.

"It is important to underscore that the House's impeachment inquiry, and the Committee, will not serve as venues for any Member to further the same sham investigations into the Bidens or into debunked conspiracies about 2016 U.S. election interference that President Trump pressed Ukraine to undertake for his personal political benefit," Schiff, D-Calif., asserted in a memo to all Intelligence Committee members on Tuesday. "Nor will the Committee facilitate any efforts by President Trump or his allies to threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously and lawfully raised concerns about the President's conduct."

Schiff has called three witnesses this week, two Wednesday and one Friday, to publicly say what they've already testified to in private -- hoping to capture the attention of a TV audience and shift public sentiment further in favor of removing Trump from office.

"We want the American people to hear the evidence for themselves in the witnesses' own words, and our goal is to present the facts in a serious and sober manner," Schiff said Tuesday ahead of the hearing. "The three witnesses this week will begin to flesh out the details of the president's effort to coerce a foreign nation to engage in political investigations designed to help his campaign, a corrupt undertaking that is evident from his own words on the July 25 call record."

The witnesses

Taylor, who is viewed as perhaps the Democrats' most compelling witness, told Congress on Oct. 22 that "it was becoming clear" to him that a prospective bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy "was contingent upon the investigation of Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections," according to a transcript of his closed-door testimony.

Asked about the summary memorandum released by the White House that memorialized the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy, Taylor said "although this was the first time I had seen the details of President Trump's July 25 call with President Zelenskiy, in which he mentioned Vice President Biden, I had come to understand well before then that ‘investigations' was a term that Ambassadors (Kurt) Volker and (Gordon) Sondland used to mean matters related to the 2016 elections, and to investigations of Burisma and the Bidens."

Tayor also affirmed that it was his "clear understanding" that "everything" from the U.S., including a White House meeting with Trump, was contingent upon Ukraine launching an investigation. He even testified that he believed the "irregular" diplomatic channel employed by Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, was used to benefit Trump.

Kent testified Oct. 15 that he raised concerns to then-Vice President Joe Biden's office about a conflict of interest presented by Hunter Biden's role on the board of Burisma in 2015, but was ultimately rebuffed, potentially buttressing GOP arguments that questions about the Bidens' activities in Ukraine have merit.

A transcript of Kent's deposition also showed he testified that Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, carried out a "campaign of lies" to smear former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and that the former New York City mayor pushed Ukraine on Trump's behalf to investigate Biden based on an unfounded theory about the country's interference in the 2016 election.

The Republican defense

In an 18-page Republican memo obtained by ABC News on Monday evening, the House GOP laid out their own strategy ahead of public hearings this week, showing they plan to make the case that it's important to understand Trump's "state of mind" to comprehend the administration's diplomacy in Ukraine.

"To appropriately understand the events in question — and most importantly, assess the President's state of mind during his interaction with (Ukrainian) President Zelenskiy — context is necessary," the memo reads.

Republicans outline four key pieces of evidence they plan to center their questions around, including a summary memorandum memorializing Trump's July 25 phone call with Zelenskiy, arguing the absence of a quid pro quo by showing "no conditionality or evidence of pressure."

Republicans contend that both Zelenskiy and Trump have publicly said there was no pressure exerted by the United States for Ukraine to investigate Biden. They also argue that testimony in the depositions show the Ukraine government was not aware of a hold on U.S. security assistance at the time of the July 25 call.

Republicans point out that Ukraine never initiated an investigation into Trump's rivals but Trump still met with Zelenskiy and U.S. security assistance ultimately flowed to Ukraine in September 2019, undercutting the Democrat's assertion of a quid pro quo.

"The body of evidence to date does not support the Democrat allegation that President Trump pressured Ukraine to conduct investigations into the President's political rivals for his political benefit in the 2020 election. The body of evidence to date does not support the Democrat allegations that President Trump covered up misconduct or obstructed justice," the GOP memo states. "The body of evidence shows instead that President Trump holds a deep-seated, genuine, and reasonable skepticism of Ukraine due to its history of pervasive corruption."

Republicans also maintain that Trump has consistently expressed skepticism about U.S. foreign aid while calling on European allies to "shoulder more of the financial burden for regional defense."

"Public reporting shows how senior Ukrainian officials interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign in favor of Secretary (Hillary Clinton) and in opposition to then-candidate Trump – including some officials who President Zelenskiy retained in his government," the memo continues. "Seen in this light, any reluctance on the President's part to meet with President Zelenskiy or to provide taxpayer-funded assistance to Ukraine is entirely reasonable."