WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump (all times local):
12:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is calling the public impeachment hearings that kicked off Wednesday the "single greatest scam in the history of American politics."
Trump is responding to the hearings with a new video directed at his supporters and released by the White House.
Trump says in the video filmed in the White House Rose Garden that Democrats want to take away his viewers' guns, health care, freedom and votes.
He adds that, "They're trying to stop me because I'm fighting for you. And I'll never let that happen."
Trump has spent the morning responding to the hearing on Twitter. He will be holding a press conference alongside his Turkish counterpart later in the day.
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12:10 p.m.
The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine is telling impeachment investigators that detailed notes he took about what he saw as irregular policy in Ukraine may be provided to Congress "sooner or later."
William Taylor says the notes "may be coming" even though the State Department has so far defied a subpoena to provide documents related to President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
Dan Goldman, chief of investigations for the House intelligence panel, responded that they would "welcome" those notes.
Taylor has said that he based his testimony about concerns over the policy on detailed notes, including notepads he kept at his desk and in his pocket. But Trump has directed federal agencies not to cooperate with the impeachment investigation, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he won't provide the documents.
Taylor is testifying Wednesday in the first public hearings in the House impeachment inquiry.
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12:05 p.m.
As the House opens public hearings in its impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, it also is continuing the closed-door sessions.
Two more witnesses are expected this week. David Holmes a State Department official, was invited to appear Friday. And Mark Sandy, the associate director for national security programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, was invited for Saturday.
That's according to an official working on the impeachment inquiry who was not authorized to divulge details of the closed-door hearings.
It's not clear they will appear. Some witnesses have, others have not.
House members have heard from several witnesses on whether Trump withheld security aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations into Joe Biden's son's role on the board of a Ukrainian gas company and possible interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
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