The Only Concrete Facts Out Of This Hearing Are That President Trump Has Given Much More Aid To Ukraine Than Obama And That Biden's Burisma Problems Are Worse Than Thought

The Facts:

TODAY'S HEARING SHOWS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN MORE SUPPORTIVE OF UKRAINE THAN OBAMA, BIDEN'S BURISMA PROBLEMS ARE REAL AND THAT THE PRESIDENT DID NOTHING WRONG

Quickly into the hearing, it became obvious that both of the Democrats' witnesses had no direct knowledge of any of the events surrounding the inquiry.

Ambassador Taylor himself admitted all his information came from hearsay saying "what I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people.

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin said: "neither witness "had direct contact with the President…that's a problem."

PBS' Daniel Bush : "Republicans are landing punches today."

David Urban : For Democrats, today's hearing "fell flat."

While Democrats struggled to find any shred of evidence, their witnesses spoke about the concerns they raised concerning Hunter Biden and Burisma.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes : "Hunter Biden in no way, shape or form should have accepted that board appointment. I don't even really think that's in dispute."

Witnesses also made clear that the Trump Administration's aid to Ukraine was much stronger than aid given during the Obama Administration.

CNN's Scott Jennings : "The discussion of lethal assistance reminded many that Obama refused to give it for TWO YEARS after Russia invaded."

TODAY'S IMPEACHMENT HEARING SHOWS PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN MORE SUPPORTIVE OF UKRAINE THAN OBAMA, BIDEN'S BURISMA PROBLEMS ARE REAL AND THAT THE PRESIDENT DID NOTHING WRONG

Quickly Into The Hearing, It Became Obvious That Both Of The Democrat Witnesses Had No Direct Knowledge Of Any Of The Events Surrounding The Inquiry

PBS' Daniel Bush: "Republicans Are Landing Punches Today Arguing The Impeachment Inquiry Is All Based On Second, Third, Fourth-Hand Info." "Not sure it's a winning argument. Republicans are landing punches today arguing the impeachment inquiry is all based on second, third, fourth-hand info." (Daniel Bush, Twitter Feed , 12/13/19)

Ambassador Taylor Himself Admitted All His Information Came From Hearsay Saying "What I Can Do Here For You Today Is Tell You What I Heard From People." "AMBASSADOR WILLIAM TAYLOR: "What I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people. And in this case, it was what I heard from Ambassador Sondland." (Ambassador William Taylor, Remarks At Impeachment Hearing-House Intel Committee ,Washington, DC, 11/13/19)

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MSNBC Contributor Chuck Rosenberg On Taylor: "His Knowledge Is Limited" Because He Didn't Speak Personally To President. "CHUCK ROSENBERG: "Path to a cross examination and Claire touched on it. 'You didn't speak personally with the President, did you Ambassador?' 'No, I did not.' 'In fact, there were probably many conversations he had about this matter, that you didn't participate in, isn't that right?' 'Yes, that's right.' And you can get him to agree to a bunch of things that sort of begins to outline that his knowledge is limited." (MSNBC, " Impeachment: White House In Crisis ," 11/13/19)

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CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: Neither Witness "Had Direct Contact W/ The President…That's A Problem." "JEFFERY TOOBIN: The one criticism of these two witnesses, which I think is very much legitimate, it's not really a criticism, it's just a factual statement, is that neither of them had direct contact with the President. Ever. And, and, yeah that's a problem if you're going to impeach the President." (CNN, " Impeachment Hearings ," 11/13/19).

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David Urban: For Dems, Today's Hearing "Fell Flat" Just Like The Mueller Hearing. DAVID URBAN: "Listen I think it was very important that Ambassador Taylor emphasized over and over again, that the Ukrainians had no knowledge at the time of the call that the aid was being withheld, that they didn't know until after the Politico story had run, that aid was being withheld. I think also, very important, this is political theater let's not forget that, right. This is all about politics. This isn't a court of law, this is about politics. And did today move the needle in anybody's opinion? Did anybody sitting at home in their living rooms, kitchens, wherever they are watching this, now have a different opinion than they did before this? I think the answer is no. I think this is unfortunately, it's going to fall flat for Democrats just as the Mueller hearing did. The big promise, just wait until the next hearing, now we are going to hear from Holmes. Today was going to be good, but we are going to hear from this gentleman who heard the call." CNN's JAKE TAPPER: "Dave Holmes is the aide to Taylor." URBAN: "Right, so that is the next guy. Today wasn't good enough, we have to go to the next one. And so, I think, if you are looking to remove a sitting president, you have to do way way better than this." ( The Lead With Jake Tapper , 11/13/19)

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Witnesses And Pundits Even Bolstered The Case That Hunter Biden's Relationship With Burisma Was A Problem And That Burisma Should Be Investigated

George Kent Says He Raised Concerns About Hunter Biden's Ukraine Board Position To Biden's Office In 2015. "George Kent: The pervasive and long-standing problem with corruption in Ukraine, included exposure to a situation involving the energy company Burisma. The primary concern with the US government since 2014, was Burisma's owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, who's frozen assests abroad we had attempted to recover on Ukriane's behalf. In early 2015, I raised questions with the deputy prosecutor general about why the investigation of Mr. Zlochevsky has been terminated-based on our belief that prosecutors had accepted bribes to close the case. Later, I became aware that Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma. Soon after that, in a briefing call with the national security staff in the Office of the Vice President in February 2015, I raised my concern that Hunter Biden's status as a board member would create the perception of a conflict of interest." (George Kent, Remarks At Impeachment Hearing-House Intel Committee , Washington, DC, 11/13/19)

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Kent Testified That Joe Biden Was Not Immune From Investigation. "REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS STEWART: So, in these corrupt nations, of which there are probably hundreds, of corrupt individuals, hundreds of corrupt government officials. Can you give me an example, anytime, where the Vice President of the United States shows up and demands that a specific prosecutor be fired and gives them a 6-hour time limit to do that? Are you aware of that happening in any other place? I guess the answer is no. And I just think it is interesting that out of hundreds of corrupt individuals, dozens of corrupt nations, that happened one time. And it happened with the individual whose son was being paid by the organization that was under investigation. One other thing very quickly, if someone was a candidate for a political office, even for President of the United States, should they be immune from investigation? GEORGE KENT: No one is above the law sir. REP. STEWART: Thank you, I agree with that, I think we all would agree with that. And yet, I think some presume that because some of the individuals we're talking about here are candidates that they are immune from any questions or any, any investigation. I think it's absurd. For heaven's sake, if those of us in public office, those of us have, find ourselves up for reelection or all the time as a candidate, I think we have a higher standard, not immunity from asking these types of questions." (Representative Chris Stewart, Impeachment Hearing-House Intel Committee , Washington, DC, 11/13/19)

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MSNBC's Chris Hayes: "Just To Be Clear: Hunter Biden In No Way, Shape Or Form Should Have Accepted That Board Appointment. I Don't Even Really Think That's In Dispute." "Just to be clear: Hunter Biden in no way, shape or form should have accepted that board appointment. I don't even really think that's in dispute." (Chris Hayes, Twitter Feed , 11/13/19)

NBC Anchor, Maria Shriver, Admitted That "When One Member Of A Family Is Elected The Whole Family Serves," And That The "Perception In Business Dealings Is Important" Which "Hunter Biden Should Have Kept In Mind." "When one member of a family is elected the whole family serves. And perception in business dealings is important, whether there's a real conflict of interest or not. Perhaps, Hunter Biden should have kept that in mind, as should the Trump children. #ImpeachmentHearings" (Maria Shriver, Twitter Feed , 11/13/19)

The New York Times' Kenneth Vogel Said The Hearing Was "Maybe A Small Victory For Republicans As George Kent Testifies That Ukrainian Prosecutors "Should" Investigate The Oligarch Owner Of BURISMA For Possibly Paying A Bribe To Kill An Investigation." "Maybe a small victory for Republicans: George Kent testifies that Ukrainian prosecutors 'should' investigate the oligarch owner of BURISMA for possibly paying a bribe to kill an investigation." (Kenneth Vogel, Twitter Feed , 12/13/19)

Witnesses Also Made Clear That The Trump Administration's Aid To Ukraine Was Much More Than During The Obama Administration

Ambassador William Taylor: Trump Provided Lethal Defense Aid To Ukraine And Obama Did Not, Put Stronger Sanctions On Russia. "Ambassador William Taylor: During the 2014 to 2014 period, I was serving outside of government and joined two other former Ambassadors to Ukraine and urging the Obama administration officials at the State Department, Defense Department, and other agencies to provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, in order to deter further Russian aggression. I also supported much stronger sanctions on Russia. I was pleased when the Trump administration provided Javelin anti-tank missiles and enacted stronger sanctions." (Ambassador William Taylor, Remarks At Impeachment Hearing-House Intel Committee , Washington, DC, 11/13/19)

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CNN Contributor Scott Jennings: Observations From This Morning Are That The Stakes For Sondland Have Been "Raised Even Higher," Taylor "Didn't Give Dems A Made For TV Dramatic Moment," And Obama Refused To Give Ukraine "Lethal Assistance" For 2 Years After Russia Invaded. "Morning observations: 1) Stakes for Sondland raised even higher 2) Taylor didn't give Dems a made for TV dramatic moment that would alter public opinion. 3) The discussion of lethal assistance reminded many that Obama refused to give it for TWO YEARS after Russia invaded." (Scott Jennings, Twitter Feed , 12/13/19)

FNC'S MacCallum: Release Of Aid To Ukraine More Forthcoming Under Trump Than Obama. "MSNBC's MARTH MACCULLUM: It seems that that release of aid, which was not forthcoming in the Obama administration and which is worth pointing out, Marie Yankovich, the Ambassador we're going to hear from on Friday, was adamant, she wanted the Obama administration to release lethal aide on behalf of Ukraine, in order to support themselves and fortify themselves against Russia. None of that happened during the Obama administration. Senator John McCain was very outspoken on the 'Meals Ready To Eat' that had been sent to Ukraine. That did get released in this administration, now there was a hold on it, which we heard a lot about today. But, you know, to characterize the whole of Ukrainian policy against Russia, it clearly strengthened under the Trump administration. Just one other point on George Kent. George Kent in his testimony, his closed-door testimony, pointed out that he had expressed concerns, and he mentioned this earlier as well, that he was concerned about Hunter Biden's role at Burisma and the kind of contrast of interest that it might create or at least the appearance of a contrast of interest that it might create, and we would expect that at some point in the, the sort of defense side here that we're about to hear from, we may hear questions with regard to that as well." (Fox News, " Impeachment Inquiry Hearings ," 11/13/19)

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