In reality, Burisma was not even being investigated at the time, and the vice president was working to oust that Ukrainian prosecutor because the prosecutor himself was corrupt.

That was the actual Obama administration policy, and this goal was backed by international institutions precisely because they had a stake in a corruption-free Ukraine. GOP senators were briefed by Obama officials about this policy at the time, including about the conditioning of foreign aid, and had no objections to it.

Kent himself -- that would be the Republicans' own star witness -- has now confirmed much of this, in testimony to the committee as part of the GOP's own investigation.

In that testimony, as the Democratic response to the GOP report details, Kent knocked down every key pillar of the GOP story line:

Kent debunked the idea that Burisma was protected from investigation, stating that "I did not witness any effort by any U.S. official to shield Burisma from scrutiny."

Kent debunked the idea that the U.S. effort to oust the Ukrainian prosecutor was about stopping an investigation into Burisma, flatly stating that it was not.

Kent confirmed that the quest for that ouster was about purging Ukraine of corruption, noting that "Ukrainian society" wanted the prosecutor gone because he was "protecting corrupt friends."

Kent confirmed that the conditioning of aid as leverage had nothing to do with Hunter Biden and that it originated with those involved in formulating "Ukraine policy."

Kent already testified to some of these points during impeachment. But now he offered it directly to the GOP investigation itself.