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Impeachment hearings: only one person drove Ukraine plot, says Schiff: 'Donald J Trump' – live Impeachment hearings: only one person drove Ukraine plot, says Schiff: 'Donald J Trump' – live
(32 minutes later)
Schiff delivers damning verdict in closing statement after Gordon Sondland’s bombshell testimony that blew holes in Trump’s defense – follow liveSchiff delivers damning verdict in closing statement after Gordon Sondland’s bombshell testimony that blew holes in Trump’s defense – follow live
Gordon Sondland testified that during a July phone call with Trump, they “primarily discussed” rapper A$AP Rocky, who was awaiting trial in Sweden at the time on charges stemming from a street brawl.
US diplomat David Holmes testified in the impeachment inquiry that he overheard parts of that phone call. Sondland said Holmes jogged his memory of the call with Trump, which he took from a Kyiv restaurant.
Holmes said he overheard Sondland tell Trump that the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy “loves your ass” and Ukraine would go ahead with the investigation of the Bidens and the 2016 election that Trump wanted.
Sondland said the call was mainly about A$AP Rocky rather than the investigations or military aid to Ukraine.
In his closed-door testimony, Holmes did mention that he overheard Sondland tell Trump that the president should let Rocky “get sentenced, play the racism card, and give him a ticker-tape when he comes home”.
As we continue to process Gordon Sondland’s bombshell testimony saying that Trump was driving the effort to pressure Ukraine, the president’s press secretary has issued a statement titled “Ambassador Sondland Completely Exonerates President Trump of Any Wrongdoing.”
Earlier, an angry Trump read off a handwritten script: “I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.”
As we await the next round of testimony, here’s a summary of where things stand:As we await the next round of testimony, here’s a summary of where things stand:
Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, blew holes in Donald Trump’s impeachment defense with testimony describing efforts to engineer a quid pro quo with Ukraine.Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, blew holes in Donald Trump’s impeachment defense with testimony describing efforts to engineer a quid pro quo with Ukraine.
“Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland said. “It was no secret.”“Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland said. “It was no secret.”
Trump was driving the plot in person and through Rudy Giuliani, Sondland said: “We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements.”Trump was driving the plot in person and through Rudy Giuliani, Sondland said: “We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements.”
“We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr. Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity...” he said. “So we followed the President’s orders.”“We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr. Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity...” he said. “So we followed the President’s orders.”
Republicans highlighted Sondland’s testimony that Trump told him there was no quid pro quo.Republicans highlighted Sondland’s testimony that Trump told him there was no quid pro quo.
But Sondland said: “Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’ As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is ‘yes’.”But Sondland said: “Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’ As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is ‘yes’.”
Republicans also battered Sondland for concluding that military aid was conditioned on an announcement of investigations, despite Trump’s never telling him that. But Sondland said the condition was not only clear to him but to others.Republicans also battered Sondland for concluding that military aid was conditioned on an announcement of investigations, despite Trump’s never telling him that. But Sondland said the condition was not only clear to him but to others.
Sondland said Trump wanted an announcement of investigations more than investigations themselves.Sondland said Trump wanted an announcement of investigations more than investigations themselves.
Sondland said the failure of the state department to comply with a documents subpoena had damaged his ability to testify fully.Sondland said the failure of the state department to comply with a documents subpoena had damaged his ability to testify fully.
House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff declared it “a seminal moment in our investigation.”House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff declared it “a seminal moment in our investigation.”
Read further:Read further:
We’re advised that Cooper and Hale will begin testifying at approximately 5pm ET.We’re advised that Cooper and Hale will begin testifying at approximately 5pm ET.
whooopsiewhooopsie
Here’s video of Schiff closing:Here’s video of Schiff closing:
Everyone (on Twitter) is raving about this new Kamala Harris ad. Let’s have a gander:Everyone (on Twitter) is raving about this new Kamala Harris ad. Let’s have a gander:
It does have snap, doesn’t it?It does have snap, doesn’t it?
The drama continues: Will Sondland make his flight to Brussels? His lawyer had asked Schiff to make the lunchbreak short so Sondland could return to post.The drama continues: Will Sondland make his flight to Brussels? His lawyer had asked Schiff to make the lunchbreak short so Sondland could return to post.
Elsewhere...Elsewhere...
A former prosecutor summarizes:A former prosecutor summarizes:
Schiff adjourns and like yesterday, there’s applause in the room.
We’ll let you know as soon as we find out when round two starts.
Schiff continues:
“There’s no mistaking what Donald Trump’s interest was. There’s no mistaking... when the president said investigation, he meant Biden. He made that abundantly clear to the president of Ukraine...”
The question is, what are we prepared to do about it? Is there any accountability? Or are we forced to conclude that this is just now the world we live in?
Schiff: “I have said a lot of things about president Trump over the years... I do not believe that the president would allow himself to be led by the nose... I think the president was the one who decided whether the meeting would happen, whether the aid would be lifted. Not anyone below him....
“My colleagues seem to think that unless the president says the words, ‘I hereby bribe the Ukrainians,’ then there’s no evidence of bribery,” Schiff continues.
Then he turns to the 25 July call summary and reads Trump’s words.
Schiff continues reading from Sondland:
“Secretary Pompeo replied, “Yes,” Schiff notes. “Not ‘issues of importance to the Potus,’ not ‘what are you talking about?’”
Pompeo was on the 25 July call, so he “knew what issues were importance to Potus,” Schiff says.
“This is a seminal moment in our investigation,” Schiff says. The revelations were “significant and troubling,” Schiff says.
Then Schiff quotes these passages from Sondland’s opening statement:
“So much for the Ukrainians didn’t know,” Schiff says. “You testified today, ambassador, the Ukrainians knew.”
Nunes is up first. “Once again the Democrats have seen the preposterous failure of their conspiracy theory,” he says.
Nunes notes that Democrats have said Sondland’s other two amigos – Rick Perry and Kurt Volker – have left him behind.
“I lost my amigos?” Sondland says.
“Not from us. Not from us,” says Nunes.
But the Republicans have attacked Sondland today as a faulty witness and challenged his judgment that he was part of a broadly vested effort to extract a quid for a quo in Ukraine.
Then Nunes, reliable as the sun, returns to the question of the identity of the whistleblower.
And a late-stage zinger from Sondland. Krishnamoorthi notes he had been referred to by NSC officials as “the Gordon problem.”
“That’s what my wife calls me,” Sondland said, to ready laughter. “Maybe they’re talking. Should I be worried?”
Here’s the last scheduled questioner, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. Then we should have closing statements, and learn about this afternoon’s further schedule.
Democrat Sean Maloney is up. It’s another applause moment in the gallery. Maloney presses Sondland to admit that an investigation of Biden would help Trump. Sondland keeps trying to derail the question by pointing out that he has testified that while Trump brought up “investigations” he did not bring up the Bidens.
Maloney gets Sondland to admit an investigation of the Bidens would help Trump, and kind of makes fun of Sondland for taking so long to say so. Then Sondland makes a mistake, taking offense to any suggestion that he has been less than forthright.
Maloney levels him:
“Fair enough, you’ve been very forthright. This is your third try to do it,” Maloney says. Sondland testified, revised his original testimony, and now is testifying again.
“All due respect sir, we appreciate your candor, but let’s be really clear what it took to get it out of you,” says Maloney.
Here’s part of the exchange:
Q: Who would benefit from an investigation of the president’s political opponent?
Sondland says that’s a hypothetical.
“It’s not a hypothetical, is it sir?” Maloney says. “Who would benefit from an investigation of the Bidens?” Maloney presses.
“I assume president Trump would benefit,” Sondland says.
“There we have it, see,” says Maloney, to applause and laughter. “Didn’t hurt a bit, did it?”
Then Sondland makes a mistake: “I have been very forthright,” he says.
Sondland:
“I would have preferred... that the president simply met with Mr Zelenskiy right away. Our assessment of Mr Zelenskiy was that he and the president would get on famously. He was smart, he was funny...”
But the meeting did not happen.