PREVIEW - US Begins Public Impeachment Hearings Amid Row Over Whistleblower

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) Public hearings over the US House's impeachment probe are set to kick-off on Wednesday with tensions running high over whether the whistleblower who helped trigger the process should testify.

In September, US House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into a whistleblower complaint that claimed Trump might have abused his power by allegedly pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a July 25 phone call to investigate potential corrupt activities by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The Bidens have said Trump's allegations are unfounded.

The Democrats have also accused Trump of using Ukraine military aid as leverage over Zelenskyy, although the US president has repeatedly said there was no quid pro quo during the phone call.

US House intelligence chairman Adam Schiff earlier this month announced that the committee would hold its first public hearing this week.

Wednesday's public hearings are scheduled to begin with testimony from Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs George Kent.

The diplomats are expected to potentially provide details on the pressure campaign on the Ukraine government and the activities of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani who made several trips to Kiev.

Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will testify on November 15.

Yale medical school psychiatrist Bandy Lee told the Washington Examiner on Friday that a group of medical specialists are seeking to testify next week about Trump's mental health. The group comprises of four psychiatrists, a clinical neuropsychologist, a neurologist, and an internist, the report said.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters and the opposition in Congress have waged a war in recent days and weeks over who should testify. The Republicans want the Bidens and the whistleblower to deliver public testimony to which the Democrats are staunchly opposed.

Hamline University Department of Political Science Professor David Schultz told Sputnik that exposing the identity of the whistleblower was crucial to Trump's defense strategy.

"Trump and the Republicans want to out the anonymous whistleblower who first reported on the president's telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president," Schultz said. "Exposing him, along with subpoenaing Hunter Biden in the Trump inquiry, are at the heart of Trump's impeachment defense."

White House lawyers have repeatedly rejected requests for Trump administration officials to testify in any briefings, public or private - a move that has enraged House Democrats.