The impeachment hearings really aren't about quid pro quo. Republicans would like to think so, and are gnawing on quid pro quo like hungry dog with a new meaty treat. However, in fact; the Democrats are going after campaign finance law violation as a cause for impeachment. Republicans are absolutely focused on the wrong aspect.
The witnesses' testimony is not helpful to Trump, no matter what you think or what Conservative media put in the headlines; but there is no smoking gun hard evidence yet that would make Republicans vote in the Senate to impeach.
These witnesses are 27+ year veterans in State Department affairs under various Presidents on both sides- professionals in foreign policy- which gives them extensive credibility and the weight the Democrats are looking for. If these witnesses have concerns about a 2nd channel being used to direct foreign policy by individuals without security clearances, that don't align with the normal channel; then it's something to be concerned about- especially when Trump asked for an investigation into an individual that is his 2020 election opponent.
If the witnesses believe favors were asked inappropriately and aid was withheld for no good policy reason, we might want to listen.
If Taylor is saying Zelensky associates appeared concerned and reluctant to make public statements about the investigation of Biden; but would do so to guarantee aid- we should probably listen.
Trump has less than 3 years of experience acting in the interests of America, conducting and executing foreign policy agendas, and upholding the rule of law. I'd have a lot more confidence in his reasoning if he had the same experience or any for that matter before being elected.
The smartest thing he could have done was better plan that call to direct the investigation across a wide swath of years from 2010-2016, which would have covered Biden's term on the board of Burisma. He zeroed in on investigating Biden, and aside from quid pro quo; which there is NO irrefutable evidence of yet, but a clear assumption - based on the delayed aid he eventually released- he did violate election laws by asking a foreign leader to investigate his 2020 opponent and his opponent's son, regardless of how it's spun. Regardless of the intent he may have had; it was the wrong thing to do, and the witnesses' testimony will be used to shape his intent.
BRENDAN FISCHER and ERIN CHLOPAK of campaignlegal.org said in an article dated October 3, 2019;
"Trump’s direct request that Ukrainian President Zelensky work with Trump’s personal lawyer (Giuliani) and use Ukraine’s government resources to investigate Trump’s political opponent served no apparent purpose other than to benefit Trump’s re-election efforts. In other words, Trump solicited a campaign contribution from President Zelensky."
https://campaignlegal.org/update/yes-president-trump-violated-campaign-finance-law-asking-ukraine-favor
These actions should be scrutinized, be viewed as overt in the public eye, if corroborated by multiple witnesses (if they would testify). There was no conjoined Congressional and State Department initiative or proposed investigation, nor official requests by Republicans; into Biden or his son. There was no recognized foreign policy agenda proposed by any of the State Department officials that aligned with investigating the Bidens, only previous corruption in the country of Ukraine among it's officials, self serving oligarchs, and the companies they controlled.
The way Trump went about asking for the investigation was outside of normal channels and procedures for this type of investigation; and generally gets approved by Congress and directed by federal investigators/prosecutors- aligned with State Department foreign policy diplomats/ambassadors before being requested of a foreign leader, rather than a civilian attorney, without a security clearance- and that works directly for the President as a consultant and defense attorney.
During a hearing On Thursday October 24th, 2019; the Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, said it was vital for those individuals conducting U.S. foreign policy abroad to have government clearance to do so.
In the campaign finance world, a “contribution” is any “thing of value” given to affect an election.
It's clear the implications in this call are enough to assume that Trump was asking Zelensky to meet with his personal lawyer and come up with a plan to investigate the Bidens. That was absolutely careless and a "thing of value" that once announced by Zelensky publicly; could affect the 2020 election and voter sentiment toward Biden. The reason this has become a problem is that if Zelensky had publicly announced the investigation, Biden could absolutely lose votes and be affected even if the investigation turned up nothing. The whistleblower brought this to the attention of the American people and to the House Intelligence Committee.
Can anyone prove Trump was doing it to help the election? Not necessarily, but it looks terrible on paper. Can anyone prove that he withheld aid because he was waiting for Zelensky to openly announce investigating the Bidens? Not yet on both, bit it's suspicious. We will see what the text messages show by career State Department officials acting on Trump's instructions. We will see what other witnesses and government officials say. Most seem to be hiding, refusing to testify, being ordered not to, and those that are-all seem to be on the same page about the general atmosphere coming from the White House. The White House is not cooperating with subpoenas, ordering witnesses NOT to testify, attacking the process, attacking career veterans, attacking the officers appointed to handling this process to see if an impeachment is even warranted. What does the President have to hide if he hasn't done anything?
The 2 career veterans in foreign policy with 50+ years of combined experience are saying it was very concerning and obvious that both the delay of aid and investigation request; were not normal -and a bad idea for leaders on both sides. That's witness testimony from experts and anyone can say 'they don't have any hard evidence" but hundreds of people get convicted every week across this country on hearsay and expert witness testimony.
Clearly what Trump did in this situation was wrong, careless, impeachment worthy, and not in the interest of Congress approved foreign policy agenda; but since it's going to die in the Senate (20 Republicans aren't likely to shift gears last minute)- we can all just shift focus now to how Trump's list of leaders considered dictators is growing. He was praising and shaking hands with another leader considered to be a dictator, today- Erdogan. He's showing the world he can Make Dictators Great Again and that he's not going to play by the House rules of impeachment. He's showing the world that he can have his cake and eat it too.
IMAGE: President Trump speaks on the phone in the Oval Office on September 4, 2019. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead. Public Domain.