mr. green: mr. speaker, how much time does the gentleman from texas have? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 11 minutes remaining. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, for 26 years, we have had the circumstances that we're trying to correct with this bill. this bill is not perfect but for 26 years there's been an opportunity for those who desire to do otherwise to bring the cause before the congress of the united states of america. 26 years. it's ironic that this cause would be brought to the congress at the time we're about to pass significant legislation that the governor of north carolina agrees with. i have a letter that is signed by many governors, one of whom is the governor of north carolina. i won't read it in its entirety but i think one line is salient and important. it reads, we, all of these governor, ask that congress pass it as quickly as possible. pass it as quickly as possible. they're talking about this bill. the governor

mr. takano: mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in passing h.r. 4360 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. will the house suspend the rules 0. pass the bill h.r. 43 those opposed, no. those opposed, no. in the 2/3. the the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? . . the clerk: h.r. 4656, a bill -- a bill to amend the service members civil relief act to allow certain individuals to terminate contracts for video ne, multichannel programming, or internet access service, and for other purposes. he speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert h.r. eous

mr. yang averaging at about 3%. iowa holds its caucuses in less than 100 days on monday, february 3. [applause] mr. yang: hello. thank you all, so much for being here. i feel like this mic is a little bit unnecessary. there are not that many of us, right? pretend it is a stadium. hello. i am andrew yang. i am running for president in 2020. how many of you have seen me talk? so many of you. that is fantastic i suppose. so i am going to give a combination of remarks for the people who have heard me -- i would love to take advantage of the fact it is a relatively small group of us to take questions and get to know and have a sense for what brought you here. despite you are here in iowa, and here politics is a combination of sporting events and community gathering and education all in one. i have been joking that iowans are a special breed because this is one of the only places where democracy still functions the way it is intended. this is cbs, i want to say. someone help him? thank you. tha

mr.cgovern: by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 660 and ask for its immediate considering. the speaker: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 66, 0 resolved that the permanent select committee on intelligence, the committees on financial services, foreign affairs, the judiciary, oversight and reform, and ways and means are directed to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing house of representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the house of representatives to exercise its constitutional power to impeach donald john trump, president of the united states of america. section 2. open and transparent investigative proceedings by the permanent select committee on intelligence for the purpose of continuing the investigation described in the first section of this resolution, the permanent select committee on intelligence referred to in this resolution as the permanent select committee is authorized

mr. yermak by text and later by phone. they met in person on august 2nd, 2019. in conversations with me following that meeting, which i did not attend, mr. giuliani said that he had stressed the importance of ukraine conducting investigations into what happened in the past and mr. yermak stressed he told mr. giuliani it is the government's program to root out corruption and implement reforms and they would be conducting investigations as part of the process any way. mr. giuliani believes the ukrainian president needed to make a statement about fighting corruption and that he had discussed this with mr. yermak. i said i did not think this would be a problem since that is the government's position anyway. i followed up with mr. yermak and he said that they would indeed be prepared to make a statement. he said it would reference burisma and 2016 in a wider context of bilateral relations and rooting out corruption anyway. there was no mention of vice president biden. rather in referencing bur

>> well, mr. , mr. speaker, i cn certainly give him an assurance on the second point and the only way to deliver a great brexit is to vote for this party and for this governor. i would like to make it even happier still by pointing out that only the 153 153 is just e first wave, mr. speaker, for ripple valley in part of the 20,000 more police that we will be putting on the streets of this country. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i won't have never known this place without you here, and it's going to be different. it's a delight to see your children here watching today as i know what you have a responsibility to parliament that you take your responsibilities as a parent incredibly serious also. and now to the prime minister. [laughing] today, today is my sons 11th birthday. >> happy birthday. >> thanks -- by the prime minister -- hundreds of children are in supersize classes and only being educated for and half days a week. i i don't want to hear his fancy stuff about brexit or russia that he's been giving fr

i yield back, mr. chairman. >> mr. jordan. >> thank you, mr. chairman. 55 days, 55 days between july 18th and september 11th there was a delay on sending tax dollars of the american people to ukraine. n one of the three most corrupt countries on the planet, our witness on friday testified in her deposition, corruption is not just prevalent in ukraine, it's the system. so our president said time-out. time-out. let's check out this new guy. let's see if zelensky is the real deal. let's see if he's legitimate. keep in mind, this has already been discussed. in 2018 president trump had done more for ukraine than obama did. that's right. president trump who doesn't like foreign aid, who wanted european countries to do more, who knew how corrupt ukraine was did more than obama because he gave them javelins to fight the russians. our witnesses have said this, others have said this, when it came time to check out this new guy, president trump said let's just see if he's legit. for 55 days, we checked him out. president zelensky had five interactions wit

mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, h.r. 255, introduced by congressman cook of california, authorizes a locally supported equal value land exchange between the forest service and san bernardino county. the county's proposed to convey an inland parcel within the san bernardino national forest to the forest service in exchange for land further north to be conveyed by the county. the land conveyed by the county will allow needed forest management infrastructure to be located closer to the forest and promote road safety by reducing the need to drive forest products down narrow, winding roads. h.r. 255 also authorizes cooperation between the county and the forest service to relocate a portion of the pacific crest national scenic trail if needed and requires that the trail relocation be completed before the exchange is consummated. this legislation is the result of a congressman who has listened to the voices of his community and administration sympathetic to the plight of our -- polite of -- plight of our forest co

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, mr. speaker, us consent request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. in 1987 speech in wes berlin president ronald reagan famously declared, mr. gorbachev tear down this wall. for nearly 30 years east and west berlin were separated both physically and ideologically, on november 9, 1989, freedom prevailed. east germany's communist government and berlin wall, one of the starkest symbols fled cold war would fall. that evening on a west german television channel, reporter hands frederick's proclaimed, quote, this ninth of november is a historic day, east germany has announced starting immediately its borders are open to everyone. end quote. while east and west germany would no officially unify until the following year, east and w

mr. t giuliani's role and what do you consider his role to have been?er >> i first heard about former mayor jewgiuliani's interest in ukraine in january of this year. that was a different phase than what happened during the summertime. >> is it normal to have ape pern who is private citizen take a role in foreign diplomacy? >> i did not find it formal, no. >> ambassador taylor, you testified two channels regular and irregular. what did you see as rudy giuliani's role in ukraine policy? >> congresswoman, i came to see that mr. giuliani had a large influence on the irregular channel. >> and was that normal? is that normal to have a private citizen of the united statesha take an active role in diplomacy? >> it is not normal. it is not unusual to ask for people outside the government to give opinions. to help form the policies of the u.s. government. it is unusual to have a person put input into the channel that goes contrary to u.s. policy. >> thank you. i yield back. >> mr. turner, you are

mr. david rubenstein. david rubenstein has been a cofounder and coexecutive chairman of the carlyle group since 1987, where the largest and most successful private investment groups. before he founded the carlyle group in 1987, he served as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the carter administration from 1977 to 1981. mr. rubenstein was also chief counsel to the u.s. senate judiciary subcommittee on constitutional amendments. he is chairman of the board of trustees of the john f. kennedy center for performing arts, the smithsonian institution, and the council on foreign relations. mr. rubenstein is also the host of "the david rubenstein show: peer-to-peer conversations." featured on bloomberg tv and pbs. secretary baker's career in public service and politics stands unparalleled, having served of secretary of state, secretary of treasury, and twice as white house chief of staff for presidents ronald reagan and george h. w. bush. long active in american president

mr. yermak would say burr mace in 2016. mr. yermak provided me a draft statement, and i wanted to be assured that this statement would actually correct the perception that mr. giuliani had of ukraine and what they stand for now so that that would also be conveyed to president trump and solve this problem that i'd observed with our may 23rd meeting with the president. the problem that he's getting a bad set of information, statement like this could potentially correct that. >> so was mr. giuliani satisfied with this statement? >> no, he was not. >> why not? >> he believed that it needed to say burisma and 2016 specifically or else it would not be credible, it would not mean anything new. >> so, in fact, mr. jewel yagiu wanted it to state burisma and one specifically for president trump. mr. ambassador, here's the text you sent to the ukrainian official on august 13th, let's put that up on the screen. you said hi, andre. good talking. following is the text with an insert at the end for the

mr. giuliani said that he had stressed the importance of ukraine conducting investigations into what happened in the past and mr. yermoc stressed, he said it is their position to conduct investigations as part of this process anyway. mr. giuliani said he believed ukrainian president needed to make a statement about fighting corruption and that he had discussed this with mr. yermoc, i said i didn't think this would abe problem since that is the government's position anyway. i followed up and he said they would be prepared to make a statement. there was no mention of vice president biden. rather, in referencing burisma in the 2016 election interference, it is clear he was only talking about whether any ukrainians acted inappropriately. at this time, i was focused on our goal of getting president ze zelenskyy and president trump to each other. i was seeking to solve the problem i saw when we met with president trump in the oval office on may 23rd. as a professional diplomat, i was comfortabl

mr. morrison, i want to turn our attention back to the july 25th call. you were in the room. did anything concern you on the call? >> no, and after the call ended you, like colonel vindman -- one of your next steps was to engage the nsc lawyers and your reasons for doing that were slightly different than colonel vindman's and you articulated three concerns and do you want to share them with us or would you rather i do it? >> so, i think i articulated two concerns and if i'm forgetting one, please remind me, but the two concerns i had, was one i did not see representatives of sc legal on the call and i wanted to make sure that the legal adviser and his deputy were aware of the call and i was also concerned about taking steps to protect the memcon limited disclosure for fear of the consequences of it leaking. >> and you were concerned about it leaking because you were worried about how it would play out in washington's polarized political environment, correct? >> yes. and you were also worr

mr. bercow: describe what mr.hitemore said about financial assistance as economic nonsense is absolutely observed -- absurd. she recalls in her recent book that mr. callahan once said, he immigrate. i would suggest the reason she sought to join the european parliament was precisely the same reason. [applause] [crosstalk] >> i may be an old-fashioned 21-year-old, but i make no apology for saying the government should not rest until the inflationary disease has been expunged from the british economy once and for all. the only powerful level of inflation -- the only tolerable level of inflation is zero inflation. david: he was a leading figure in the anti-immigration group on the far right of the party and a crowdpleasing party activist. mr. bercow: in the public sector, end punitive taxation and the release of our industry from cumbersome political control, the results of failure in the form of a socialist nightmare, hardly bearing reflection. on theby 1992, he was election trail, fighting and losing for a labour se

mr. letter. judge rogers: good morning. good morning, your honor. the district court, so this court could have an opportunity to review the import questions of the day. the court denied that motion, even though it is clear that once the issues are disclosed, they cannot be undisclosed. nrungell cannot be ou after-the-fact. the court denied that motion on the left because of merit, but as we explained, the district court committed at least two serious errors of law in granting the request. judge griffith: you can start with irreparable harm. it is the case that if we agree with the district court, the irreparable harm is not that important. mr. freeman: i disagree with that. our intention in the case -- judge griffith: you thought you were likely to lose on merits? what significance is it? mr. freeman: i agree with that. in terms of the irreparable harm , the disclosure of grand jury information from a massive federal criminal investigation of that concluded only eight months ago, there ar

mulvaney, mr. duffy, mr. pompeo, mr. bolton, mr. volt, mr. giuliani, why wouldn't those same sentiments be within their hearts to do their patriotic duty and do what you have done, sirteed, whdoesne standard apply to the president of the united states? >> i wish i could answer. suspect you can't because there is no good answer. but i do appreciate your willingness to come here today. with that, i yield back, mr. chairman. >> thank you, congressman. mr. jordan. thank you, i ask yiewp unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement from chief of staff mick mulvaney. >> we haven't seen all the statements but i presume they're accurate and no objection. >> ambassador, president trump is not a big fan of foreign aid, is that right? >> i don't know if that's a fair characterization. i think he's careful. >> he' expressed concerns about foreign aid going to kern certan countries. >> yes. he believed ukraine was corrupt. >> yes. and wanted europe to do more. definitely. and the president had a belief that ukrainian government officials, some s

maule veiny and mr bolton and you have come here and you've been truthful i appreciate that mr morse and whether you acknowledge it publicly or not i believe that you knew that what the president asked ukrainians to do was wrong and as you just described your duty is to follow the foreign policy priorities the president but to also only follow something that is a lawful order and i don't think you believe that was a lawful order and that's why you did not follow up on those priorities mr volcker we've heard a lot today about this president being such an anti corruption president really cared about fighting corruption is russia corrupt country. there's a we're talk about present no president from president trump is russia corrupt country yes it is and president trump has met a number of times in person with president putin is that right yes a few times and he's had a number of phone calls with president putin is that right this is turkey a corrupt country yes and just last week despite their corruption at the white house president aired on had an audience with the present united state

thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to congratulate the faculty, staff, and students of ann la tort elementary school being recognized as a 2019-2020 national blue ribbon school. the national blue ribbon schools program was founded nearly 40 years ago to recognize outstanding public and private schools who are making a difference and exemplify excellence. la tort elementary was recognized as an exemplary achievement gap closing school. i'd like to thank penn manor superintendent, the school board, and the leadership and teachers at la tort elementary for working very hard for this achievement. we know how a quality education prepares students for success throughout the rest of their lives. mr. speaker, in their application for wreck nizz, the school principal notes that it is evidence how individuals throughout the community are vested in the education of every la tort student. mr. speaker, i'd like to thank and congratulate that community for making a difference in the lives of their students and

the record and with that investor sunland you are now recognized for your opening statement thank you mr chairman and thank you ranking member newness i have appreciate the opportunity to speak again to the members of this committee. first let me offer my thanks to the men and women of the u.s. department of state who have committed their professional lives to support the foreign policy work of the united states in particular i want to thank my staff at the u.s. mission to the european union your integrity dedication and hard work often performed without public acclaim or recognition serve as a shining example of true public service and i am personally grateful to work beside you each and every day it is my honor to serve as the u.s. ambassador to the european union the u.s. mission to the e.u. is the direct link between the united states and the european union and its members . america's longest standing allies and one of the largest economic blocs in the world every day i work to support a strong united and peaceful europe strengthening our ties with europe serves both american and eur

mr. kent in preparation for the call? >> i was given notification the day before on july 24th and the extent, i had any role was to reach out the embassy and give them a heads up and ensure the communication to the office of the president of ukraine so the call can be pass through the white house's situation room. >> did you forget any advice to conne colonel vitamin mandman of the ? >> i was not asked and provided. >> same to you, ambassador? >> the same. >> the call was scheduled and you testified earlier that the call was on and off again. after the july 10th, meeting when baambassador bolton, the c sen consensus that would not happen. >> once zelensky's party won the absolute majority on july 21st, the where had of a congratutory call made perfect sense. >> did you get a read out ambassador taylor from the call? >> i didn't. i read the, we all read the statement that the crew ukraiuk put out. i got a read-out from mr. morrison national security council. >> how about you mr. kent? >> i

mr. giuliani's role and what do you consider his role to have been? >> i first heard about former mayor giuliani's interest in ukraine in january of this year, that was a different phase than what happened during the summertime. >> was it normal to have a person who is a privat citizen take an active role in foreign diplomacy? >> i did not find his particular engagement normal, no. >> now, ambassador taylor, you testified that there are two channels, a regular and irregular. what did you see as rudy giuliani's role in ukraine policy? >> congresswoman, i came to see that mr. giuliani had a large influence on the irregular channel. >> and was that normal? is that normal to have a private citizen of the united states take an active role in diplomacy? >> it is not normal. it is not unusual to ask for people outside the government to give opinions, to help form the policies of the u.s. government. it is unusual to have a person put, input into the channel that goes contrary to u.s. policy. >>

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i was honored today to attend the second hearing that i've attended in the supreme court of the united states. if you stand right here on the floor of the senate and look east, due east through these glass doors, you can almost see the supreme court building. it's directly across the street. the supreme court is many times the last stop when it comes to human rights and civil rights. after all the work that's been done by the congress, by the president, many times it's the supreme court that has the last word. in the case of plusy versus ferguson, when the supreme court held that segregation was constitutional, that last word was a disappointment. in core mats decide versus the united states, when they upheld the internment of japanese americans during world war ii, it was another disappointment. but other times it has risen to the challenge. the famous case of brown versus education which struck

mrs. torres: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. torres: my amendment would add language directing the u.s. export finance agency to emphasize outreach to tribal businesses, including alaska native corporations that export goods and services. there is a long history of successful federal economic development programs leaving, leaving indian country behind. ensuring the tribal businesses are aware of the services and resources that the agency provides is absolutely critical. companies that increase their exports are able to raise wages, take on additional employees and further invest in their communities. increase economic development in indian country -- increased economic development in indian country means increased economic opportunity, which in turn means more self-determination for tribes and a greater ability to take care of their people as sovereign nations. the u.s. export finance agency has proven to be an important tool in ex

mr. giuliani's demand that president zelensky make a public statement about investigations, i knew that investigations were important to president trump. we did not discuss any classified information. other witnesses have recently shared their recollection of overhearing this call. for the most part, i have no reason to doubt their accounts. it's true that the president speaks loudly at times and it's also true, i think we primarily discussed asap rocky. it's true that the president likes to use colorful language. anyone who has met with him any reasonable amount of time knows this. while i cannot remember the precise details again, the white house has not allowed me to see any readouts of that call and the july 26th call did not strike me as significant at the time. actually, i would have been more surprised if president trump had not mentioned investigations, particularly given what we were hearing from mr. giuliani about the president's concerns. however, i have no recollection of disc

mr. sherman: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass s. 2710, a bill to prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd control items, and defense articles and services to the hong kong police and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2710. an act to prohibit the commercial export of covered munitions items to the hong kong police force. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. sherman, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. sherman: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on s. 2710. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. sherman: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, let me start by thanking the senator for his hard work o

mr. takano: mr. speaker, i appreciate the final comments that the ranking member made, i believe in good faith and sincerity. and they were words of generosity. but i have to rebut some of the claims that he has made. while i spent six years of my time in congress in the minority, and in the minority on this committee, i can tell you that the minority staff and and other members of the minority did offer amendments in good faith, but we never did o in order to derail or to obstruct passage of important and meaningful legislation. and therefore the chairman can point to many great piecess -- the ranking member, while he was chairman, can point to many great pieces of legislation, including the forever g.i. bill. and numerous other bills. it was a very productive congress in the last congress because the minority worked with him. look, bipartisan spirit means that the minority also works in good faith and ms. brownley, in order to bring the deborah sampson act to the floor under suspension, made some s

mr. giuliani said they thought ukraine should make a statement about fighting corruption and mr. yermac provided me a draft statement and i wanted to be assured that this statement would actually correct the perception that mr. giuliani had of ukraine and what they stand for now so that that would also be conveyed to president trump and solve this problem that i had observed with our may 23rd meeting with the president. the problem being that he's getting bad set of information. a statement like this could potentially correct that. >> so was mr. giuliani satisfied with this statement? >> no, he was not. >> why not? >> he believed it needed to say burisma and 2016 specifically or else it would not be credible, it would not mean anything. >> so in fact mr. giuliani wanted a statement that referenced burisma and 2016 elections explicitly. one that would benefit essentially president trump. mr. ambassador, here's the text you sent to the ukrainian official august 13th. you said hey andrey goo

mr. higgins: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. mr. higgins: i object to the vote and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from innesota, miss gray. miss gray: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. chair, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the pr

mr. allen: mr. speaker, i rise today in honor of national bible week and i thank congressman lamborn for taking the time tonight to recognize the importance of honoring god's word. s was said seffyp years ago, f.d.r. started national bible week before the start of world war ii. it is the serving as our guide during times of both joy and hardship. it is the way that god speaks to us. was born in rural america, in georgia, and as most youngsters, i was baptized at an early age, ::16,se i believe in john 3 john who gave us his son that who shall believe in him shall not perish but have aterm life. what appear amazing gift. almost 20 years ago, there are many highs and lows since my time since then, 20 years ago, one of those times of despair, i made a covenant with god. and that covenant was to put him first. and that meant an intense study of his word. and i would be quoting his word. i learned that my strength and abilities did not come from myself but through him and through him alone. we pride ours

mr. kent, for as long as i can remember, u.s. foreign policy has been predicated on advancing principled entrants and democratic values notably freedom of speech, press awe assembly religion, free and fair open elections and the rule of law. mr. kent, when american leaders ask foreign governments to investigate their potential rivals, doesn't that make it harder for us to advocate on behalf of those democratic values. >> i believe it makes it more difficult for our diplomatic representatives overseas to carry out those policy goals, yes. >> how is that, sir? >> well, thrice an credible -- there's been an issue of credibility hearing diplomats on the ground one thing and hearing leaders say something else. >> would you agree >> iould. >> would you add how it would make it more difficult for you to do your job, sir. >> our credibility is based on respect for united states. and if we damage that respect it hurts our credibility and makes it more difficult for us to do our jobs. >> anyone loo

mr. freeman: how does that relate? yes, that is the point, on our second argument, which is the committee demonstrating that. judge rogers: i would suggest to with the special counsel , what the committee did with the statements during it seems to specify why certain material is necessary for the committee to it isd, and you have said not enough, repeatedly, but when the council was asked by the district court, what test were you were lying on and what authority, counsel provided nothing. mr. freeman: i think the test that -- ofge rogers: the department justice. mr. freeman: yes, your honor. as we explained very clearly in district court -- does rogers: yes, what that say? mr. freeman: it shows you need to avoid specific injustice and other proceedings, that you have to show that the interests of secrecy outweigh the interests of disclosure and that the disclosure could be tailored to that particular injustice. foundrogers: the court that that test had been met. why was the district court

mr. holmes. have you met with or do you know alexandra chalupa? could you turn your microphone on. >> no. >> do you know nellie ohr? have you met with nellie ohr? >> no. >> bruce ohr? >> no. >> glenn simpson? >> no. >> thank you. same question for you, dr. hill. do you know or have you met with alexandra chalupa? >> no. >> nellie ohr? >> no. >> bruce ohr? >> only in the course of my previous position as a national officer that he presided over the meetings i attended. >> a long time ago? >> yes. >> glenn simpson? >> no. >> dr. hill, in your testimony you said that in your deposition, excuse me, that christopher steele was your counterpart at one time. is this correct. >> that is correct, yes. >> you testified that you met with christopher steele in 2016, and i assume that is still correct? >> that is correct, yes. >> and the only thing that we didn't get on that is that do you know about when that was in 2016 and how many times? >> i am afraid i don't. i actually had met with him, and he

in the anticipation of mr. mr. holmes' testimony tomorrow about the july phone call that he overheard at a cafe in kiev that you had with president trump, he overheard that even though call was not on speakerphone. >> i don't believe so. >> was it an open air cafe? >> it was outdoors. >> one of the points that my democratic colleagues keep making is that david holmes' prior testimony which he will apparently confirm tomorrow is that president trump said he doesn't give a blank about ukraine. you heard that earlier. >> that was not on the phone call. i don't think he testified that was on the phone call. i think he was testifying that i summarized the phone call. i don't recall saying that. >> you have no recollection of that. >> i don't. >> even if it was true, there's nothing wrong with that, to have an opinion. >> he can have whatever opinion he wants about ukraine. >> it's all part of the narrative that president trump is a bad guy and he doesn't care about the ukrainians but it seems to me nothing says you care

>> mr. did you know lueck, mr. yermak, mr.ermak's aide, ambassador volker and ambassador sondland and a couple of people were from the state department. i wondered for a while if one of secretary's perry's group had been there, too. i honestly cannot remember. >> ambassador volker was there during that entire time. >> he was there he didn't actually speak very much during that meeting. and i heard his deposition and i read his deposition where he didn't really recall that encounter. again, he didn't really speak. ambassador sondland was doing most of the speaking. >> and i think you described it as you came in -- ambassador sondland was talking about how he had an agreement with chief of staff mulvaney for a meeting with the ukrainians. if they were going forward with the investigations. while this was taking place and afterwards, how were the ukrainians reacting to what was being said? >> well, at the time, mr. yermak was quite impassive, he had an aide with him. his aide was sitting next to him in the original meeting with a

yarmuk when i reached mr you're much office.ambassador son had already gone into the meeting and i explained mr your knocks assistant that i was supposed to join the meeting as the embassy representative and strongly urged her to let me in but she told me that ambassador son linda mr your mark had insisted that the meeting be one on one with no no taker and then waited in the ante room until the meeting ended along with a member of a master silence staff and a member of the u.s. embassy staff when the meeting ended the 2 staffers and i accompanied ambassador song led out of the presidential ministration building master stalin that it said that he want to go to lunch and i told him besser song that i'd be happy to join him and the 2 staffers for lunch if he wanted to brief me out on his meeting with mr your macro or discuss other issues investor stalin said that i should join the 4 of us went to a nearby restaurant and sat on an outdoor terrace i sat directly across from a master sauna and the 2 staffers sat off to our sides at 1

mr. holmes: yes. mr. holmes, i want to go back and name some americans, i want to talk a little about some ukrainian government officials. are you familiar with sergei lushenko. mr. holmes: yes. >> have you met with him? mr. holmes: i have. >> he was a journalist, and in the parliament, currently in the parliament? mr. holmes: journalist again. >> are you aware that when he was in the parliament, he to a fusionormation gps operative named nellie ohr? mr. holmes: i am not aware. i am aware that as a journalist he provided information. >> this was in the 2016 campaign. he provided, widely known as the "black ledger," have you heard of that? mr. holmes: i have. >> the black ledger, is that seen as credible information? mr. holmes: yes. >> the black ledger is credible? mr. holmes: yes. >> bob mueller did not find it credible. do you dispute what bob mueller's findings were, they didn't use it in the prosecution or report? mr. holmes: i am not aware that bob mueller did not find it credible. i think it was evi

year mark and mr giuliani and discussing with mr yamagata baster soul and a possible statement that could be made by the ukrainian president i did not know of any linkage between the hold on security assistance and ukraine pursuing investigations no one had ever said that to me and i never conveyed such a linkage to the ukrainians i opposed the hold on us security systems as soon as i learned about it on july 18th and i thought we could turn it around before the ukrainians ever knew or became alarmed about it i did not know the reason for the hold but i viewed it as a us policy problem that we needed to fix internally and i was confident we would do so i believe the ukrainians became aware of the hold on august 29th and not before that date is the 1st time any of them asked me about the hold by forwarding an article that had been published in politico. when i spoke to the ukrainians about the hold after august 29th instead of telling them that they needed to do something to get the hold released i told them the opposite that they should not be alarmed it was an internal us problem a

-mr. holmes -- >> mr. holmes, you indicated in your opening statement that the chief of staff of president zelensky indicated to you in this phone call on july 25, there was a discussion about personnel issues related to the prosecutor general's office. after you read the call, did you understand who and what that was referring to? mr. holmes: yes, sir. in that brief meeting with the chief of staff, it was confusing to me why in the few minutes we had that was the issue he raised. it wasn't until i read the transcript of the call on the 25th, that i understood the president mentioned specifically the prosecutor general lutsenko, who was in the process of replacing, carving out his und erlings who had been collaborating with him on some of the corruption we saw. chairman schiff was theou said lutsenko source of some of mr. giuliani's public views and allegations? mr. holmes: about two weeks sawre the press wave we targeting ambassador yovanovitch became public, embassy contact said privately mr. lutsenko wa

mr. giuliani's role and what do you consider his role to have been? i heard about former mayor giuliani's interest in ukraine in january of this year. that was a different phase than what happened during the summertime. >> was it normal to have a person who is a private citizen take an active role in foreign diplomacy? >> did i not find his particular engagement normal, no. >> now, ambassador taylor, you testified that there were two channels, a regular and irregular. what did you sees a rudy giuliani's role in ukraine policy? >> congresswoman, i came to see that mr. giuliani had a large influence on the irregular channel. >> and was that normal is that normal to have a private citizen of the united states take an active role in diplomacy? >> it is not normal. it is not unusual to ask for people outside the government to give opinions to help form the policies of the u.s. government. it is unusual to have a person input into the channel that goes contrary to u.s. policy. >> thank you. i y

mr. turner had suggested earlier that it somehow embarrasses embarrassed president zelensky. i have the deepest expect as for president zelensky tp he is from a jewish the brktd from post soviet industrial suburb into southern ukraine made himself one of the most popular entertainers in the country and got elected president and he is not missing the opportunity. this is a ukrainian patriot, a tough guy. and frankly he with stood a lot of pressure for a long time. and he didn't give that interview. i have the deepest respect for him. the ukraine. in' people have deep respect for him they chose him to help deliver the full measure of promise of the revolution of dignity i think he merits all our respect. >> mr. chairman, i ask ask unanimous consent to enter the photo on the screen into the record. >> without objection, mr. hurd. >> thank you, dr. hill, mr. holmes for your years of service to this country. and i appreciate y'all being here today. throughout this process i have said that i wa

but i think mr., mr. jordan, the way i read, this he remembers it the same way i do. >> yeah, and it's real clear, right? >> it's very clear to me. >> thank you. >> thank you, ambassador taylor. mr. heinz, you are recognized for five minutes. >> gentlemen, thank you for your testimony today. one of the things i find startling about these proceedings faired with very serious allegations of misconduct. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not engage or defend that conduct. rather they spin theories about black ledgers and steele dossiers and the startling revelation that ukrainians might have been upset when a presidential candidate suggested that perhaps he would let the russians keep crimea or, of course, we get the attacks so epitomized by mr. nunes' opening statement when he attacked democrats, he attacked the media and most disgustingly attacked the extraordinary men and women of the state department and the fbi. when a defense does emerge, it look as little like this. ukraine is a corrupt c

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, 1 of rule 1, ause i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the peaker pro tempore: question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. mr. thompson: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from comer.y, mr. mr. comer: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without bjection, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, i

mr. conway. >> i field to mr. ratcliffe for five minutes. >> thank you to the gentleman for yielding. i want to pick up where my congress across the aisle, congressman himes left off earlier. respectfully, dr. hill, he was not defending you. he was defending himself and democrats. i want to make sure the record is very clear. ranking member nunes was correct. he correctly noted in his opening that republicans, not democrats on this committee, were the first ones, the first ones to raise the issue of russian interference in the 2016 election. the disagreement wasn't about russia meddling. the disagreement was about whether or not president trump conspired with russia. a false allegation, peddled by the democrats, generally and specifically by some democrats on this committee. with that, i want to turn to you and the part of the conversation, your testimony where you said you heard president trump say, is she going to do the investigation and ambassador sondland said he's going to do it. ou'll do anything to. is tha