Impeachment ‘is gaining momentum and traction’ — and the White House knows it: Washington Post reporter

Republicans are growing increasingly alarmed about impeachment as House Democrats continue to gather testimony.

National Security Council Ukraine expert Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman testified on Tuesday and reportedly offered testimony about the crimes of soliciting foreign election interference, a quid pro quo that could potentially be charged as bribery or extortion, and reportedly gave bombshell testimony about a possible cover-up of the first two crimes.

Reporters Rachael Bade, Karoun Demirjian, Mike DeBonis and Seung Min Kim wrote a story in The Washington Postheadlined, "Firsthand account of Trump’s Ukraine call puts GOP in bind, emboldens Democrats."

One of their colleagues, Pulitzer Prize-winning White House correspondent Ashley Parker, told MSNBC's Brian Williams of her reporting on "The Last Word."

Parker said, "it’s worth noting this is a White House that has long operated not just in chaos, but under a number of inquiries, so there are some people who are perhaps not as alarmed as you or I might expect have because they can point to, for instance, the Mueller investigation."

"That said, there is a real understanding -- inside and outside the White House, among allies, among Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill -- that this is not good, that this is gaining momentum and traction in a way that the Mueller investigation never really did.

"And that each one of these witnesses who are going up with their name behind closed doors, but testimony is leaking out and emerging, are all sort of marching in lockstep and painting a picture -- each one complimenting the next -- that is very damaging for this president and this White House and that even his allies generally feel uncomfortable trying to publicly defend," Parker said.

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