Political probes done at Trump's direction, witnesses say

Key impeachment witnesses said Thursday it was clear that Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was pursuing political investigations of Democrats in Ukraine at Trump's direction.

Their testimony undercuts the president's argument he only wanted to root out Ukrainian corruption.

State Department official David Holmes said he understood that Giuliani's push to investigate "Burisma," the Ukraine gas company where Joe Biden's son Hunter served on the board, was code for the former vice president and his family.

Former White House adviser Fiona Hill warned that Giuliani had been making "explosive" and "incendiary" claims.

"He was clearly pushing forward issues and ideas that would, you know, probably come back to haunt us and in fact," Hill testified.

"I think that's where we are today."
"My recollection is that Ambassador Sondland stated, "Every time Rudy gets involved he goes and f---s everything up."
Holmes testified that he grew alarmed, watching as Giuliani was "making frequent public statements pushing for Ukraine to investigate interference in the 2016 election and issues related to Burisma and the Bidens."
"They would pit one side of our electorate against the others."
But she said the conclusion by US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the U.S. election "is beyond dispute."