'Hearsay': Impeachment Witness Claims 2nd Trump Phone Call, Other Dem Witness Testifies Concern on Biden's Son

WASHINGTON – Since it began nearly two months ago, the impeachment inquiry has mostly taken place behind closed doors and on Wednesday those doors opened as two US diplomats took questions from House lawmakers about their concerns over the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine's leader.

While day one of public testimony was long and drawn out with little new information, there was revelation of another phone call.

US diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor and senior State Department official George Kent both testified that Trump ordered nearly $400 million in military aid withheld from Ukraine for political purposes.

Then came that revelation from Taylor. He said one of his staffers overheard EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland on the phone with Trump.
 
"The member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine," Taylor said in his opening statement. "Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of the Bidens."

Trump said he didn't remember the conversation.

"I know nothing about that. First time I've heard of it," he said in a news conference. "The one thing I've seen that Sondland said is that he did speak to me for a brief moment and I said no quid pro quo under any circumstances. And that's true."

On the Biden corruption front, Kent said he was concerned about the role of Hunter Biden, son of then Vice President Joe Biden, at a Ukrainian gas company.

"There was the possibility of a perception of a conflict of interest," said Kent in an answer to a lawmaker.

In the hearing, Republicans focused on the end result, namely that the White House did release military aid to Ukraine and there was no investigation of the Bidens. They also noted that Taylor and Kent relied on secondhand information.

CBN's chief political analyst David Brody said one theme stuck out to him on Wednesday.

"One word – hearsay," he told CBN's Faith Nation. "We heard it all the time. If we're going to play this game of telephone, I heard it from that person who heard it from that person, now we're into fourth hand. What in the world does that mean exactly?"

Taylor's staffer who says he heard that call will now testify privately on Friday. Marie Yavanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, will also take the stand – though publicly – that same day. 

BELOW: CBN News Political Analyst David Brody: 'Hearsay is the Operative Word'