Depositions turn to the White House

For only the fourth time in US history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry.

House committees are trying to determine if President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family, and to investigate the country's involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The three House committees leading the Democratic investigation have scheduled several current and former National Security Council officials to testify this week behind closed doors an attempt to get a better look inside the White House as Trump pushed Ukraine to conduct politically motivated investigations.

The officials include Charles Kupperman, a former deputy at the NSC under then-national security adviser John Bolton, and current NSC staffers Tim Morrison and Alexander Vindman. Morrison is particularly significant. William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, told lawmakers in his deposition last week about phone calls he had with Morrison that described the Ukraine effort.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the inquiry, said Sunday he would like Bolton to testify but expects the White House would "fight us" over his appearance. Bolton is "a very important witness" who has "very relevant information," Schiff, D-Calif., told ABC's "This Week."
The Democrats are moving quickly, sometimes scheduling multiple depositions in one day. They're trying to compile facts and eventually transition to public hearings. Schiff said Saturday that the committees are making "rapid progress." He told ABC that "we will be doing public hearings, and I think we'll be doing them soon."