Trump Impeachment: Witness Attacks 'Fictional Narrative Propagated By Russians'

A former top White House adviser on Russia on Thursday termed the impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump as “fictional narrative” pushed by Russia. Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry over claims that Trump pressured Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to look into what the US leader said were corrupt business deals involving Biden. Fiona Hill said that such a fictional native is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russians.

“Based on questions and statements I have heard some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country and that perhaps somehow for some reason Ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves,” Hill said.

"Our nation is being torn apart. Truth is questioned. Our highly professional expert career foreign service is being undermined. US support for Ukraine which continues to face unto Russian aggression has been politicised," she said.

She said the Russian government's goal was to weaken the US, to diminish America's global role and to neutralise a perceived US threat to Russian interest.

Last week, Donald Trump dubbed the impeachment proceedings against him as a "double standard never seen" in US history. This came after US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch deposed before the Congressional panel on the second day of impeachment hearings. “A double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country,” Trump tweeted as Yovanovitch was grilled on president's interaction with Ukrainians.

Asserting that he has done no wrong, Trump released transcripts of his first phone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his electoral victory.

According to the ABC News-Ipsos poll released on Monday, slim majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office. Fifty-one per cent of those asked said they think Trump should be tried and convicted in the US Senate, while another six per cent favour impeachment but not removal, according to the poll. The ABC-Ipsos poll suggested as well a drop in the number of people opposing impeachment, to 38 per cent, compared to the FiveThirtyEight average of about 46 per cent.