The first open hearings in the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump are set for next week, the congressman overseeing the process said Wednesday, as the investigation heads into a much-anticipated public phase.
Two US officials including William Taylor, the top US diplomat to Ukraine who has bolstered the accusation that Trump pressured Kiev to launch investigations that could help the president politically, will testify next Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said.
The Capitol Hill hearings will be broadcast live as Democratic and Republican lawmakers question witnesses, many of whom the White House has sought to discredit.
Republican lawmakers have spent weeks accusing Democrats of holding “sham” secret hearings in the US Capitol basement and demanding a more open process.
Schiff said that such a phase has now arrived, and that Americans will be able to hear the accounts of potential abuse of power directly from witnesses who were caught up in the scandal.
