Impeachment hearings necessary, delegates say

Members of Hawaii’s Democratic Congressional delegation called the House impeachment inquiry hearing an unfortunate milestone in American history but noted that testimony given to the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday shows why the process is needed.

“What the president did was indefensible, a shakedown of a foreign ally,” U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono declared. “This is not good policy for the U.S.”

Hirono said she didn’t get to view the entire six-hour hearing but she watched long enough to see both of Wednesday’s witnesses offer up credible testimony that was damaging to President Donald Trump.

William Taylor, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, a senior State Department official and Ukraine expert, were the first witnesses of the public version of the inquiry, only the third set of formal impeachment hearings in modern history. The veteran public servants both described what they considered improper dealings in Ukraine by the president.

Hirono said the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were using their time to throw out conspiracy theories, going after the whistleblower and attacking the process.

“They don’t have anything else going for them,” she said. The senator added that she was hearing a “fairy tale” when Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, blasted the whole effort as unfair and said the facts support the president and the American people understand that.

There are plenty more witnesses in the weeks to come who will back up evidence of shady dealings by the president, Hirono said, although it is unfortunate the president isn’t allowing former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to testify.

“These proceedings are very important, and I hope the American people were watching,” she said.

Rep. Ed Case released this statement after the hearing:

“I remain saddened at this very difficult chapter in our long history. But the testimony at today’s first public hearing fully justifies continuing the House’s impeachment inquiry in an open, transparent and fair process.”

Earlier, after the hearing was underway, Case tweeted that “an open and transparent impeachment inquiry process is essential to broad public understanding and involvement.” He provided a link to the C-SPAN livestream as well as to the transcripts to earlier witness interviews.

He later tweeted that while the inquiry is critical, he continues to work on other issues facing the country and the islands. He included photographs of meetings with representatives with the Citizens Climate Lobby, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hawaii and the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz also released a statement Wednesday:

“It is a solemn time for our country, and it is unfortunate that it has come to this. But we take solace in the fact that our founders wrote into the Constitution a remedy for the behavior that was exposed. Although impeachment and removal are severe consequences, so are the high crimes being alleged.

“The safeguards built into our Constitution only work if we have the courage to use them. The path forward is clear: we must honor our oath, present the facts to the American people, and hold the president accountable.”

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard could not be reached for comment.