The lights are often on late into the evening at CIA headquarters, where a team of elite analysts works on classified reports that influence how the country responds to global crises.
In early August, one of those analysts was staying after hours on a project with even higher stakes. For two weeks, he pored over notes of alarming conversations with White House officials, reviewed details from interagency memos on the U.S. relationship with Ukraine and scanned public statements by President Trump.
He wove this material into a nine-page memo outlining evidence that Trump had abused the powers of his office to try to coerce Ukraine into helping him get reelected. Then, on Aug. 12, the analyst hit “send.”
His decision to report what he had learned to the U.S. intelligence community’s inspector general has transformed the political landscape of the United States, triggering a rapidly moving impeachment inquiry that now imperils Trump’s presidency.
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Impeachment this week: The hearings go public
In the first week of open impeachment hearings, three career diplomats gave dramatic testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. (The Washington Post)
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A glass of soda sits on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on Feb. 14, 2018, as Trump holds a meeting. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
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Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, second from left, meets with Petro Poroshenko, second from right, then the president of Ukraine, and other officials in Kyiv on Nov. 21, 2017. (Myhaylo Palinchak/UNIAN)
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Kurt Volker, right, the special envoy to Ukraine, and Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, meet with members of Ukraine’s parliament on Jan. 25, 2018. (U.S. Embassy in Ukraine)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with Gordon Sondland, right, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, on his inauguration day on May 20. (U.S. Embassy in Ukraine)
Sondland, third from right, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, second from right, the director for European affairs on the National Security Council, at Zelensky’s swearing in. (U.S. Embassy in Ukraine)
Fiona Hill, a former top Russia adviser on the National Security Council, leaves the Capitol following closed-door testimony on Nov. 2. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
William B. Taylor Jr., acting ambassador to Ukraine, arrives on Capitol Hill to provide closed-door testimony on Oct. 22. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
Former national security adviser John Bolton. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Trump talks to reporters this month before leaving the White House for a campaign event in Georgia. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

Zelensky and Vice President Pence, right, attend a World War II commemoration in Warsaw on Sept. 1. (Alexey Vitvitsky/Sputnik/AP)
Sondland arrives on Capitol Hill for his deposition on Oct. 17. (Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)

The news media prepares to interview House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) in September. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schiff hold a news conference on Capitol Hill on Oct. 2. (Sarah Silbiger/For The Washington Post)
Journalists on Wednesday prepare to cover the testimony of William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for Ukraine. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)