Democratic debates: Democrats prepare for fifth debate after key impeachment witness says Trump directed Ukraine 'quid pro quo' in bombshell testimony
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Your support makes all the difference.Gordon Sondland has implicated a number of White House officials who were “in the loop” with Donald Trump's direction to withhold aid to Ukraine in an exchange for a meeting and a public statement announcing an investigation into the president’s political opponents.
The testimony came as Democrats were preparing to hold their fifth debate of 2020 in Atlanta, where they will undoubtedly be asked about the freshly sprung impeachment inquiry that has dominated headlines.
Mr Sondland, a US ambassador to the EU, affirmed that there was a so-called quid pro quo, dropping a bombshell testimony into another pivotal hearing in the House impeachment inquiry into the president’s alleged abuses of power in his dealings with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to his testimony, Mr Sondland worked under the president’s order to work with Rudy Giuliani “not because we liked it but because it was the only constructive path” to building a relationship with a vulnerable Ukraine. In emails and other conversations with US officials — including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Energy Secretary Rick Perry — Mr Sondland established a clear link from the president, through Giuliani, and efforts to engage Ukraine with investigations into the 2016 election and Burisma.
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Mr Trump told reporters outside the White House that he barely knows Mr Sondland, who he previously called a "great American", and that he seems like a “nice guy".
The president read from a stack of papers in his hand, which included, in capital letters, his recollection of a conversation with Mr Sondland in which Trump said "I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NO QUID PRO QUO."
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that "the US aid to Ukraine flowed, no investigation was launched, and President Trump has met and spoken with President Zelensky. Democrats keep chasing ghosts."
Mr Pence and Mr Perry also released statements during the hearing denying Mr Giuliani’s influence in their dealings with Ukraine. They’ve refused to testify in the impeachment probe.
Mr Trump also lashed out at his Democratic opponents conducting the House impeachment inquiry, mocked key witnesses giving testimony for their sartorial choices and denied that the onset of a heart attack was what prompted his sudden trip to hospital on Saturday.
"These people are sick. They’re sick. And the press really in this country is dangerous. We don’t have freedom of the press in this country. We have the opposite. We have a very corrupt media," the president ranted from the Cabinet Room of the White House on Tuesday.
The inquiry heard from four witnesses on Tuesday who detailed the administration’s coercion of Ukraine.
Jim Jordan, fired up again, says the "best evidence" presented so far is Trump telling reporters this morning that he wanted "nothing" from Ukraine.
Jordan: "This is crazy what we’re going through, because the facts are so clear!"
Tense exchange here, with Sean Maloney trying to make clear the connection to an investigation into Burisma and how it would benefit the president.
Maloney: Who would benefit from an investigation of political opponents?
Sondland: Depends on who's asking.
Maloney: Who would benefit from an investigation into the Bidens?
Sondland: I would assume Trump.
Maloney: There we go!
Sondland says he resents the suggestion that he hasn't been forthright.
Maloney: We appreciate your candor, but let's be clear about what it took to get it out of you.
Maloney knocks Sondland in his third attempt to be "forthright" with Congress after amending his previous testimony while still not recalling previous key conversations.
In a follow-up round with Congresswoman Val Demings, he doesn't recall the specifics of a conversation in which Sondland talked to Trump about pursuing investigations in exchange for aid, according to a testimony from David Holmes, who witnessed the conversation.
Raja Krishnamoorthi brings up former National Security Council aide Tim Morrison's assessment of Sondland as "the Gordon problem."
Sondland: "That's what my wife calls me."
Schiff says Sondland's testimony is "deeply significant" and "troubling."
He's summarasing Sondland's testimony in Sondland's words, pulling key statements from his testimony that tie Giuliani to Trump and the withholding of aid for Ukraine to Giuliani's pressure for an investigation into the 2016 election and Burisma.
Schiff now saying that those decisions ultimately rest with the president.
He says he doesn't believe Giuliani or others would lead him "by the nose." Trump decided, not anyone who worked for him, Schiff says.
Schiff: Trump is the one who refused a meeting with Zelensky, despite encouragement from people close to Ukraine, and Trump ultimately decided to withhold aid.
Schiff: "There's no mistaking what Donald Trump's interests were. ... The question is what are we prepared to do about it? Is there any accountability? ... Are we prepared to say, in the words of Mick Mulvaney, 'get over it' or 'get used to it'? We're not prepared to say it."
Schiff: This is not an easy decision for any of us. This is not something we relish. Impeachment was made not necessary because of a whistleblower but because of the actions of the president. ... Getting caught is no defense.
Schiff adjourns following his most dramatic closing statement yet after an explosive hearing and makes the case that all evidence points to the president entrusting his attorney Giuliani to direct pressure on Ukraine.
Jim Jordan, speaking to reporters, says Ukraine never complained that aid was frozen from them and that they felt no pressure to pursue investigations.
Jordan: "This process has been so unfair."
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