"HELP, WE'VE FALLEN AND CAN'T GET UP!":

House Republicans' request for witnesses in the impeachment inquiry reads more like a "cry for help" than an actual contribution to the investigation into President Donald Trump's conduct, argued MSNBC's Steve Benen.

He's not wrong. The list includes:

The whistleblower

"All individuals relied upon by the anonymous whistleblower in drafting his or her secondhand complaint"

Hunter Biden

Devon Archer, a business associate of Hunter Biden

Nellie Ohr of Fusion GPS, which directed the work behind the Steele Dossier

Alexandra Chalupa, a Democratic National Committee employee who reportedly conducted research on Paul Manafort's work in Ukraine

Not one of these people will have information that could exonerate Trump from the mountain of evidence indicating he oversaw a vast bribery scheme aimed at pressuring the Ukrainian government into smearing and opening up investigations into his political rivals.

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