Nunes: Impeachment hearing 'theatrical performance'
Senior Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers presented dueling narratives on Wednesday as a congressional impeachment inquiry that threatens Donald Trump's tumultuous presidency entered a crucial new phase with the first public hearing.
Democrats leading the U.S. House of Representatives probe have summoned three U.S. diplomats - all of whom have previously expressed alarm in closed-door testimony about Trump's dealings with U.S. ally Ukraine - to detail their concerns under the glare of wall-to-wall news coverage this week. The public hearings are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday.
With a potential television audience of tens of millions looking on, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, opened the historic session in an ornate hearing room packed with journalists, lawmakers and members of the public.
The panel's senior Republican, Devin Nunes, accused the Democrats of conducting a "carefully orchestrated smear campaign" and of using the hearings as a "televised theatrical performance."
