"Castor is asking Taylor to essentially speak to Trump’s mindset. Taylor resists doing so, saying, 'I don’t know' more than once."

"It’s subtle right now, Maggie, but this is a key to the Republican defense. Taylor cannot speak to his mindset because he is not a first-hand witness to the president’s statements or actions, per se"/"And Maggie, asking about Trump’s mindset after Republicans have pointed out, accurately, that Taylor never actually spoke with Trump"/... "Taylor looks bewildered every time Castor asks a question. For folks not watching this, it loses something to describe what’s taking place. Part of understanding the interactions is seeing Taylor’s pauses after Castor asks questions as he seems to be trying to understand what Castor is asking."

From the NYT live commentary running next to the live video feed from the impeachment hearing, where William Taylor, "the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine," is the first witness.

Castor is Steve Castor, House Intelligence Committee Counsel for the minority, who is asking questions on behalf of the GOP. See "Meet Steve Castor, the attorney handling questioning for GOP during impeachment hearings."

UPDATE: From one of the NYT commentators, Kenneth Vogel: "A small victory for Republicans: George Kent testifies that Ukrainian prosecutors 'should' investigate the oligarch owner of Burisma, the gas company that paid Hunter Biden, for possibly paying a bribe to kill an investigation in 2015."

It's a "small" victory because it's "for Republicans." If it were "for Democrats," it would be a mind-blowing bombshell.

AND: Again, from the NYT commentators: White House correspondent Annie Karni says, "Jordan is, at least, a more energetic questioner than the lawyer Castor." I'm not following this enough to get the "at least." Then White House correspondent Peter Baker responds with, "This aggressive, prosecutorial style by Jordan is just what Trump wants to see in his defenders." Seems like Baker is puffing for Jordan, and it's hilarious that he knows "just what" is in Trump's head. So much of this whole enterprise is about figuring out what's in Trump's head. Why do some people assume they know? I instinctively mistrust these people who purport to know and (obviously) won't acknowledge if they are self-aware enough to know that they're talking about something they cannot know.

MORE: I get the "at least" now. Jordan is a Republican. So Baker isn't "puffing for Jordan," he is putting him down. I didn't understand that before. I stumbled into understanding because I follow Matt Gaetz on Twitter. You can see Jordan's "aggressive, prosecutorial style" here:

Their star witness knows nothing. #ImpeachmentHearings @Jim_Jordan pic.twitter.com/djTTLkvNZo

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 13, 2019