Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch appeared on Capitol Hill Friday morning for closed-door testimony in the House impeachment inquiry.



Yovanovitch is expected to discuss her dismissal as ambassador in May, when she was recalled to Washington, and her knowledge of the efforts by President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE, to pressure the Ukrainian government to open a corruption investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE and his son.



ADVERTISEMENT

Her appearance bucked expectations. On Tuesday, the White House counsel issued a letter warning Speaker(D-Calif.) that it has no intention of cooperating in the Democrats' requests for documents and witness testimony as they pursue their impeachment inquiry.And State Department Secretaryearlier in the week had blocked the deposition of another top diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who had flown to Washington and expressed interest in testifying before the three committees — Intelligence, Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs — leading the impeachment investigation.

Sondland has since been subpoenaed, and his lawyer said Friday that Sondland hopes to testify next week.



It's unclear if Yovanovitch was cleared by the State Department to testify Friday, or if her appearance came in defiance of the White House's threat of blanket stonewalling.



Leading up to her arrival in the Capitol, where scores of reporters and banks of cameras were waiting uncertainly, there was plenty of speculation about whether she would appear or not.



As lawmakers from both parties trickled in ahead of the 10 a.m. deposition, they all seemed to be equally in the dark about whether she would testify.



"I haven't heard a thing," said Rep. Mike Quigley Michael (Mike) Bruce QuigleyDemocrats introduce legislation to revise FDA requirements for LGBT blood donors Tucker Carlson sparks condemnation with comments about deadly Kenosha shooting Hillicon Valley: Three arrested in Twitter hack | Trump pushes to break up TikTok | House approves 0M for election security MORE (D-Ill.), a member of the Intelligence Committee, as he descended the Capitol staircase to the secure basement hearing room where the closed-door deposition is taking place.



Other lawmakers seen entering the hearing were Democratic Reps. Jim Himes James (Jim) Andres HimesMany Democrats want John Bolton's testimony, but Pelosi stays mum SEC's Clayton demurs on firing of Manhattan US attorney he would replace Democrats face tough questions with Bolton MORE (Conn.), Denny Heck Dennis (Denny) Lynn HeckExclusive: Guccifer 2.0 hacked memos expand on Pennsylvania House races Heck enjoys second political wind Incoming lawmaker feeling a bit overwhelmed MORE (Wash.) and Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffSchiff to subpoena top DHS official, alleges whistleblower deposition is being stonewalled Schiff claims DHS is blocking whistleblower's access to records before testimony GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power MORE (Calif.), the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. GOP members included Reps. Mark Meadows Mark Randall MeadowsWhite House chief of staff knocks FBI director over testimony on election fraud Anxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid Pelosi hopeful COVID-19 relief talks resume 'soon' MORE (N.C.), Lee Zeldin Lee ZeldinDCCC reserves new ad buys in competitive districts, adds new members to 'Red to Blue' program Overnight Defense: House panel probes Pompeo's convention speech | UN council rejects US demand to restore Iran sanctions | Court rules against Pentagon policy slowing expedited citizenship The Hill's 12:30 Report: Republicans conduct in-person convention roll call MORE (N.Y.), Scott Perry Scott Gordon PerryOn The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president GOP lawmaker: Systemic racism doesn't exist and there's 'more to the story' of Floyd's death We're united in an effort to end the FDA's dog testing mandate MORE (Pa.) and Jim Jordan James (Jim) Daniel JordanHouse panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election House passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus MORE (Ohio), the ranking member of the Oversight panel.