‘A domestic political errand’

Investigators concluded a momentous three-day stretch of public impeachment hearings before the inquiry takes a weeklong break for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. There are no hearings scheduled beyond that — as of yet.

On Thursday, two witnesses described their intimate views of an attempted quid pro quo. Here’s a wrap-up from the day:

Fiona Hill, the former top Russia expert at the White House, said President Trump’s demands for Ukraine to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden amounted to a “domestic political errand” that diverged from American foreign policy goals.

Dr. Hill also criticized the “fictional narrative” that Ukraine, not Russia, meddled in the 2016 elections, denouncing a theory embraced by Mr. Trump. She argued that the story was planted by Russia and played into Moscow’s hands by sowing political divisions in the U.S.

David Holmes, a top aide in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, added detail to a now-infamous call he overheard between Mr. Trump and Ambassador Gordon Sondland.

Analysis: The House Intelligence Committee now moves forward without testimony by some of the key players in the drama, a calculated gamble that it has enough evidence to impeach Mr. Trump on a party-line vote in the House.

Go deeper: Here’s what we learned from the testimony (including a schooling on America’s geopolitical relationship with Ukraine).