PBS News Hour - Politics

Three House committees questioned Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top Russia adviser, on Monday as part of the impeachment inquiry. Hill, who worked in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, is considered very knowledgeable about Russia and skeptical of its president, Vladimir Putin. Yamiche Alcindor reports and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss what we know about Hill's deposition.

Only seven of the 235 House Democrats have not articulated support for the impeachment inquiry. Each represents a district President Trump won in 2016. John Yang traveled to upstate New York to find out what constituents are saying to one of the holdouts, Rep. Anthony Brindisi, who narrowly defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018.

Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and NPR's Domenico Montanaro join Amna Nawaz to analyze the latest political news, including public support for the impeachment inquiry, how Republicans feel about President Trump's Syria troop withdrawal and what to look for in Tuesday's Democratic debate.

President Trump saw cracks in support among congressional Republicans last week, following his decision to pull back troops in northern Syria and amid allegations he withheld military aid to Ukraine for political gains. The busy week in politics comes as Democrats prepare for the latest presidential debate set for Tuesday in Ohio. Jeff Greenfield joins Megan Thompson for some analysis.

Kevin McAleenan is leaving his post as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after six months on the job, President Trump announced Friday. During his short tenure, McAleenan oversaw an agency that has moved to drastically curb entry of asylum seekers into the United States. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, homeland security reporter for The New York Times, joins Megan Thompson to discuss.

Marie Yovanovitch, the former Ukrainian ambassador forced from her position in May, testified on Capitol Hill Friday despite being denied permission to do so by the State Department. In her prepared opening statement, Yovanovitch blasted the Trump administration for leveraging "unfounded and false claims" to justify her ouster. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Judy Woodruff and Yamiche Alcindor.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's political news, including President Trump's attitude toward Kurds in Syria and stance toward Turkey's Syria offensive, testimony from the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and how the prospect of impeachment affects the race among 2020 Democrats.

In a surprising twist within the impeachment inquiry of President Trump, two associates of Rudy Giuliani who were to appear before Congress this week were instead arrested at the airport on charges of violating campaign finance law. According to law enforcement, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman exhibited "corrupt behavior." Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

In a new book, Pulitzer winner James B. Stewart explores two controversial recent investigations by the FBI and the Justice Department: Probes into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Stewart talks to William Brangham about how his research contradicts President Trump's "deep state" narrative.

A strongly worded letter from the White House on Tuesday informed House Democratic leaders that it will not be complying with the impeachment inquiry, and called the entire process illegitimate, in part because the full House has not voted to authorize it. To understand the White House's legal argument, William Brangham talks with former House Intelligence Committee staffer Jamil Jaffer.