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.
Elise Stefanik echoing other Republicans in today's hearing, accusing the Obama administration of impropriety by allowing Hunter Biden to work with Burisma under its watch.
(The GOP controlled both houses at the time.)
Here's Eric Trump, suggesting a great way to unwind after a brutal day of impeachment hearings is with a bottle of Trump Wine.
CNN reporting that Trump allies were "blindsided" by Sondland's testimony.
Maloney, who dug into Sondland to get him to explicitly admit that an investigation into Burisma would benefit Trump and his campaign, tells MSNBC that Sondland's testimony has "been incomplete."
Meanwhile, Lt Col Alexander Vindman — a Ukraine diplomat who testified in the House impeachment hearings this week — is calling on Fox to retract an October segment during which host Laura Ingraham and contributor John Yoo had suggested he had committed "espionage."
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Lt Col Vindman's attorneys argue that Fox knowingly aired false accusations.
The letter reads: "As the self-described 'most watched, most trusted' news network, Fox News has a grave responsibility to the truth. The Segment was not true. It has now been repeated by some of the most powerful people in the world. It is causing great pain. We ask you to retract the coverage, correct the record, and publish the truth."
Ahead of tonight's Democratic debates right in the middle of impeachment hearings, Kamala Harris released this ad, pitting her against Trump.
Hello everyone, Clark Mindock signing in from the New York bureau!
We'll be watching the next impeachment hearing with Laura Cooper and David Hale, then on to the main event of the night: the fifth Democratic Debates of the 2020 election cycle.
I'll be joined in coverage a bit later by our chief US correspondent, Andrew Buncombe, who will be reporting from Seattle.
Should be an exciting night after a month of tumult in the Democratic field! Stay tuned!
So, who are we about to hear from in Washington? Can we expect as many fireworks as this morning with Sondland (short answer: wow, almost certainly not. Wasn't that a rush)?
Laura Cooper is a Russia-Ukraine expert with the Pentagon. She's a career Defense Department official, and we're expecting her to give insight into the efforts to release the now infamous military aide to Ukraine. From what we know already, she reportedly told the White House that withholding the aide to Ukraine could be illegal.
David Hale is a career diplomat for the US, the no 3 at the State Department, and we are expecting him to be pressed on the decision to pull Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, earlier this year. Ms Yovanovitch has already testified publicly, and memorably responded to Donald Trump's tweet in real-time after being presented with his attack.
We have some nice quotes from Donald Trump from his visit today thanks to the pool report:
“We have a fake press”
“Lots of them are fake and phony”
“Fake papers they’re fake press”
“What really we have to learn from this thing is the press...”
On the whistleblower
“The whistleblower is not a whistleblower. He’s a fake. He’s a political operative.”
POTUS was asked about trade with China.
China “would much rather make a deal than I would”
“We’ll see what happens.”
“If I didn’t win, right now, China would be a bigger economy than the US...”
“I haven’t wanted to do it yet because I don’t think they’ve stepped up.”
POTUS stopped speaking to pool at 4:05 pm. He spoke for about 15 minutes.
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