Politics and Government

Trump impeachment inquiry: A guide to key people, facts and documents

Dana Farrington, NPR

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House Democrats are investigating President Trump and whether his administration affected foreign policy for personal political gain. Here is what you need to know to understand the Ukraine affair.
Ella Trujillo for NPR

Updated on Nov. 11 at 6:05 p.m. ET

The Democratic-led House of Representatives is pursuing an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Here is the key information you need in order to understand an increasingly complicated affair.

Read the latest coverage of the inquiry here.

First, some background: While momentum toward impeachment had been building among Democrats for months, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced an inquiry in September — after a whistleblower complaint about a White House phone call with Ukraine. The House formalized the inquiry and outlined their path forward with a vote on Oct. 28. The first open hearing in the inquiry is scheduled for Nov. 13.

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In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump asked for an investigation into a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 election and into potential 2020 rival and former Vice President Joe Biden. The White House is also accused of withholding military aid to Ukraine for Trump's personal political gain. Trump maintains that he has done nothing wrong.

Timeline: The Ukraine Affair

Clockwise from top left: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Clockwise from top left: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
AFP/Getty Images and Getty Images

Here's how we got to the impeachment inquiry, from Trump's early focus on Ukraine in 2017, to the release of the whistleblower complaint on Sept. 26. Read the timeline.

Who And What: Key People And Concepts

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch surrounded by lawyers, aides and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol to testify on Oct. 11.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch surrounded by lawyers, aides and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol to testify on Oct. 11.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Since the original whistleblower complaint was released, the list of names of those connected to Trump's call with Zelenskiy or to broader Ukraine policy has grown substantially.

From the president to career diplomats to private lawyers, here is a quick guide to people connected to the events being investigated.

In-depth profiles and features:

Special audio report NPR's Steve Inskeep hosts a special report on the impeachment inquiry. Inskeep, along with NPR's hosts, correspondents, and producers, step through the story as we know it so far — explaining who the key players are and what they knew. Listen to the special.

Listen to the impeachment inquiry special
by NPR

Documents: Primary Sources

Written words are central to the Ukraine affair. The significance of the whistleblower's original complaint and the White House's record of its call with Ukraine are debated, but the text is public. Here are the documents to refer to as the inquiry proceeds:

Texts and memos

Illustration: a stack of cards representing different information sources (media reports, public statements, depositions and the White House call log)
Alyson Hurt/NPR

The whistleblower's complaint has largely been corroborated by witness testimony, public statements and media reports. See how the document checks out — with a detailed annotation of the text. Testimony released by Congress following closed depositions

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