Day two of the historical hearings began at 9:10 a.m Friday this time with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as the witness.

9:10 a.m.

“She is known as an anti-corruption champion … She is an exemplary officer who is widely praised and respected by her colleagues,” Chairman Adam Schiff says in his opening statement.

9:15 a.m.

Ranking committee member Devin Nunes criticizes the hearing in his opening statement, saying the Democrats are trying to fulfill their “Watergate fantasies.”

He continues to steam ahead the main Republican argument that the information presented from the Democrats is “second-hand… third hand information.”

“They are blind to the blaring signs of corruption,” he said, referring to Joe Biden pressuring Ukraine to fire the Prosecutor General in 2016 and threatening to withhold aid in the billions.

9:33 a.m.

Yovanovitch delivers her opening statement. Watch her full opening statement for some background on the hearing.

Her main testimony is that Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, openly embraced corrupt people inside Ukraine.

12:21 p.m.

Devin Nunes opens the Republican 45-minute questioning with a thanks for Yovanovitch’s service. She testified that she had no contacts with Giuliani’s associates. 

Elise Stefanik (R-Rep) says the President Trump’s reasoning for wanting to investigate Biden was “fair game” because even the Obama Administration raised concerns about a conflict of interest. She later tweets about the unfairness of the hearing.

1:37 p.m.

Nunes continues the questioning. “Are you against political appointed ambassadors? … Is it not the President’s prerogative to appoint whoever he wants in any country?”

“First of all, I am not against political ambassadors. Just to be clear,” she answered.

Jim Himes (D-Rep) exercised the idea that Yovanovitch was removed because she was in the way of investigations the president wanted.

2:13 p.m.

Elise Stefanik uses her questioning time to call for the whistleblower testimony, before yielding her last 90 seconds to Jim Jordan (R-Rep) to attack the redacted release of deposition transcripts. Schiff and Jordan have clashed multiple times during the hearings, and as Jordan gives his monologue, Schiff stares straight at the countdown clock.

3:15 p.m.

Schiff ends the hearing by thanking the witness for her service and for testifying. Yovanovitch is clapped out, and the public hearing ends, with a closed door deposition beginning soon after.

The hearings resume Tuesday with testimony from Mike Pence’s Europe – Russia advisor and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

For more on the impeachment hearings, as well as live updates, check back to the Bearing News Live Impeachment column. 

Updates by Nick Clervi – Author and economic, political analyst for Bearing News.