Some lawmakers, meanwhile, were already speculating that it could act as more evidence in their articles of impeachment against Trump.

Democrats have previously discussed charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his attempted blockade of witnesses and documents in their impeachment inquiry, though articles have not yet been drafted.

“It looks like witness intimidation to me,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who sits on the Intelligence panel, told reporters. “She presented compelling testimony. It obviously got under his skin. He just couldn’t help himself, he had to tweet.”

Trump’s tweet — in which he wrote, in part, “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad” — came one hour into the hearing designed to show how White House officials had personally targeted the former ambassador.

Even Republicans admitted it was problematic for the president to be criticizing the witness, a respected career diplomat, at the same time she was testifying against him. Still, none would directly criticize the president, and many avoided questions about the tweet altogether.

“It’s not something I would do,” Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters during a break from the hearing.

Asked if it amounted to witness intimidation, Conaway did not offer a direct answer: “I’m not a lawyer, I’m not familiar with it, but it’s just not something I would do. It’s just not my style.”

Several Republicans on the Intelligence Committee dodged the topic entirely. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) refused to answer questions about the tweets as he ducked on to the House floor, while Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) quickly whipped out his cell phone and began talking into it, even though his home screen was visible and there was no call in progress.

And Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told POLITICO: "I don't discuss committee business."

Notably, Nunes only briefly mentioned Yovanovitch in his opening statement.

Other GOP members argued that the tweet did not amount to witness intimidation, even if they disagreed with the contents of it.

“I have no reason to think she's done a bad job,” said Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah).

Even some of Trump’s most hardcore supporters have been careful not to directly attack Yovanovitch, for fear it could play into Democrats’ hands.

“Respectfully, this is all you need to know about Ambassador Yovanovitch's testimony,” tweeted Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of Trump’s closest allies. “She admits she can't bring any firsthand knowledge to” certain elements of the impeachment inquiry.

For many Republicans, the mid-hearing attack embodies what has come to define the Trump era: a baffling or bombastic tweet, followed by a whole lot of GOP hand-wringing.

“I have never been a fan of attacking people. That opinion has not changed this week or today,” said retiring Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.).

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham rejected Democrats' accusations.

"The tweet was not witness intimidation, it was simply the President’s opinion, which he is entitled to," she said in a statement. "This is not a trial, it is a partisan political process — or to put it more accurately, a totally illegitimate, charade stacked against the President."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Friday afternoon that she hadn’t seen the tweet and couldn’t comment on whether it could be added to potential articles of impeachment, but added, “witness intimidation is a crime.”

“We have so much else going on. I’m so proud of the dignity and the grace of the ambassador and her patriotism, I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to the president,” the California Democrat said.

Asked if the tweet was inappropriate, Pelosi quipped: “Appropriate and president in the same sentence? Why would we start making that judgment now?”

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said he believed the tweet was “more evidence of intimidation, which is in effect, obstruction.”

“I would have assumed that the Republicans would have tried to spend their time playing down the fact that she was intimidated and forced out,” Quigley said. “And the president opens with intimidation and getting rid of her.”

