PBS News Hour - Politics

Additional closed-door deposition transcripts from the impeachment inquiry were released Monday. Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Defense, testified during her appearance that her colleagues questioned whether aid appropriated by Congress for Ukraine could legally be frozen by President Trump. Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Mentioned frequently in transcripts from closed-door testimonies in the impeachment inquiry, Rudy Giuliani stands at the center of the saga over President Trump's Ukraine policy. Giuliani is now the president's personal lawyer, but he first entered the national spotlight as New York's tough-on-crime mayor -- and later, a consoling figure amid the grief of September 11th. Yamiche Alcindor reports.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including whether open hearings could change Americans' minds about impeachment, implications for Joe Biden's presidential campaign, the potential entry of Michael Bloomberg into the Democratic race, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's comments about standards for female politicians and more.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments that could decide the fate of some 700,000 "Dreamers," members of a younger generation of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. They are currently protected from deportation by an executive order that President Barack Obama put in place in 2012, but that President Donald Trump has sought to cancel. Amna Nawaz reports.

More than 3,000 undocumented migrants have died in Arizona during the last 20 years while trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico, spurring the formation of aid groups along the border that aim to prevent the humanitarian crisis. Now, some aid workers are facing criminal charges due to renewed enforcement of harboring laws that say good Samaritans are breaking the law. Ivette Feliciano reports.

Three officials will testify this week as the impeachment inquiry enters a new phase with public hearings. House Republicans on Saturday submitted their wishlist of witnesses which included Hunter Biden and the whistleblower -- both names ruled out by the Democrats. NewsHour's Lisa Desjardin joins Megan Thompson to discuss the latest.

House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry have released nearly 2700 pages of closed-door deposition transcripts. Many of the officials interviewed echoed the whistleblower's concerns about President Trump's policy toward Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, renewed claims that the whistleblower was guilty of wrongdoing. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Nick Schifrin and Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's political news, including the impact of released impeachment inquiry transcripts, what we might learn from the upcoming public hearings, the possible entry of Michael Bloomberg into the 2020 presidential race and results from state elections in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In his impeachment inquiry testimony, career State Department official George Kent alleged that Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney, sought to manipulate U.S. policy on Ukraine and oust former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Kent also said he had expressed concern over Hunter Biden's position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company in 2015. Nick Schifrin talks to Judy Woodruff.

Jane Fonda has been a household name for decades due to her prolific acting career, both on-screen and on stage. She has also drawn sustained attention for her enduring -- and sometimes controversial -- activism. Judy Woodruff sits down with Fonda to discuss her climate advocacy, what it's like to spend a night in a D.C. jail and how young activists like Greta Thunberg are shaping a new movement.