Top Diplomat testifies in Trump’s impeachment inquiry

President Donald Trump’s impeachment battle hit dangerous new territory Tuesday with what a Democrat called “explosive” testimony supporting allegations that he pressured Ukraine for dirt on a political opponent.

Beset by tensions at home and abroad, Trump sparked yet more controversy with his use of the racially charged word “lynching” to describe his predicament.

His impeachment looked ever more likely after the Democratic-led lower house of Congress questioned the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor.

Taylor is seen as a crucial witness in the case against Trump, who is accused of abusing his power to push Ukraine to investigate one of his main 2020 election rivals, Democrat Joe Biden.

The hearing was behind closed doors, but according to The Washington Post and CNN, Taylor used opening remarks to confirm that the White House repeatedly sought to pressure Ukraine — and said it would not deliver US military assistance without results.

Taylor said he was told Trump wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “to state publicly” that he would investigate, according to his leaked opening statement.

He said that the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, told him that “‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance.”

Emerging from the testimony, Democratic congressman Adriano Espaillat tweeted that “what I heard today from #BillTaylor was very troubling and explosive.”

“At some point we’re going to have to conclude our investigation and go forward with what we have, and what we have is incredibly damning right now,” another Democratic legislator, Ted Lieu, said.

A new CNN/SSRS poll on Tuesday showed support for Trump’s removal from office is now 50 percent to 43 against.

However, reflecting the intensely partisan divide among voters, 87 percent of Democrats are pro-impeachment, compared to just six percent of Republicans.