John King: Opening Hours Of Public Impeachment Hearings Are Critical For Democrats

In this March 22, 2018 file photo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, exits a secure area to speak to reporters, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House intelligence committee is expected to vote to send more than 50 interview transcripts to special counsel Robert Mueller. The panel is meeting Wednesday for the first time since a Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, became chairman with the new House majority. Schiff has long said that sending the transcripts from the panel’s now-closed investigation into Russian election interference to the special counsel’s office would be one of his top priorities.

Zoe Mathews is a producer for Boston Public Radio and the producer of The Scrum podcast.

November 12, 2019

Updated August 07, 2023

With public hearings set to begin Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, CNN's John King joined Boston Public Radio for a political debrief.

"The key point is the first opening hours. ... The question is, if you want to swing more independents your way, and if the Democrats believe there's any opportunity to move Republicans, whether that means votes in the House of Representatives or Republicans out in the country, you need compelling hearings. You don't need to just make your case that there was an abuse of power or rogue foreign policy," said John King. "Are they compelling witnesses? Do they capture the imagination of the American people so that after day one and then day two on Friday, Democrats have an audience that says, 'Okay, I'm coming back for more.'"

John King is CNN’s chief National Correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics, which you can catch Sunday mornings at 8:00 and weekdays at noon.