U.S. diplomat Sondland reverses impeachment testimony, says he knew of Ukraine quid pro quo

By Jonathan Landay and Mark Hosenball

 

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Leader of the House Democratic Caucus Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel (D-NY) speak during a media briefing after a House vote approving rules for an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland acknowledged telling a top Ukrainian official that U.S. security assistance withheld by President Donald Trump was unlikely to be delivered until Ukraine publicly met a demand for an "anti-corruption" statement, according to a new declaration from Sondland released on Tuesday.

 

Sondland initially testified in October to a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of Trump in Congress, and offered new details to lawmakers on Monday after his memory was "refreshed," that appear to bolster the initial whistleblower complaint that led to the investigation.

 

Sondland's testimony also corroborates those of other witnesses, who have said Trump sought to pressure the Ukrainians into conducting investigations that appeared to be aimed at helping his re-election campaign.

 

The impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives is focused on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open an investigation into former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

 

Joe Biden is a leading contender for the Democratic Party nomination to run against Trump in the November 2020 election. Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that had been investigated for corruption.

 

Sondland sent a text message in September in which he said Trump insisted there was "no quid pro quos."

 

Sondland said in his new statement that by the beginning of September "in the absence of any credible explanation" he concluded that the nearly $400 million in withheld aid was linked to Trump's demand that Ukraine publicly acknowledge an investigation. Sondland has said he didn't realize early on that the investigation was meant to target the Bidens.

 

Senator Rand Paul on Monday night at a 'Keep America Great' rally said the whistleblower needed to come forward, but Republican Senator Mitt Romney on Tuesday said the whistleblower 'should be allowed to remain confidential'.

 

"Resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks," Sondland said he told a Ukrainian presidential adviser.

 

Much of the early parts of the investigation by three House committees that include Democratic and Republican lawmakers, were conducted behind closed doors, but now the inquiry is moving into a public phase with the release of testimony and anticipated on-camera interviews in the next month.

 

Sondland submitted the supplemental testimony on Monday after statements by other officials, including Bill Taylor, the top U.S. envoy in Ukraine.

 

Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused Democrats of unfairly targeting him in hope of reversing his surprise victory in the 2016 presidential election. Democrats accuse Trump of misusing taxpayer dollars destined for a vulnerable U.S. ally for personal political gain.

 

If the House votes to approve articles of impeachment - formal charges - the Republican-controlled Senate would then hold a trial on whether to remove the president from office.

 

Senate Republicans have so far show little appetite for removing the president.

 

"If it were today, I don't think there's any question it would not lead to a removal," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the duration of any trial would depend on how long senators want to take.

 

Congressional Democrats also released testimony from Kurt Volker, Trump's former special representative for Ukraine negotiations.

 

In his testimony Volker detailed what he described as the role of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani as a conduit between Washington and Kiev.

He also said his decision to resign on Sept. 27 was because of the impeachment inquiry.

 

"I didn't think I would be able to go to Ukraine or meet with Russians and be able to carry out those duties in that way anymore," he said. He also said he wanted to provide testimony "with as much candor and integrity as I possibly could."

 

Witnesses have testified that Volker and Sondland, with Trump's secretary of energy, Rick Perry, were known as the "three amigos," responsible for Trump's unofficial channel to Ukrainian government officials.

 

Volker resigned as special representative in September. He testified to the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight panels for more than eight hours behind closed doors on Oct. 3.

 

Perry, a former Texas governor who said he was resigning from his Cabinet post as of Dec. 1, has refused to testify so far.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Mark Hosenball; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Makini Brice, Lisa Lambert, Susan Cornwell and Karen Freifeld; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Ginger Gibson; Editing by Paul Simao and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-06

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4 minutes ago, webfact said:

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland acknowledged telling a top Ukrainian official that U.S. security assistance withheld by President Donald Trump was unlikely to be delivered until Ukraine publicly met a demand for an "anti-corruption" statement, according to a new declaration from Sondland released on Tuesday.

Squeak Squeak!

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

The sound of the rats fleeing the sinking ship are starting and will only grow louder.

 

Only an idiot would believe that Trump had their back, and the repercussions of Trump's follies, misadventures, dubious schemes and disloyalties are starting to come home.

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

 

 

LOL. That house of cards is faaaaaaaalling fast. Surreal how the reps and his base cannot see his immorality. Really really strange.

Now who believes that was the only time Trump did something like this? 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

after his memory was "refreshed,"

Surely a phrase to become popular around the world. Sounds far better than "because my previous statement was found to be a lie".  Can see this becoming very useful here in Thailand. 

But but Donald said it was a perfect calllllllll.   Lol his defense is dead now he will switch to well I was bad but it’s not impeachable I beg to differ

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Squeak Squeak!

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

The sound of the rats fleeing the sinking ship are starting and will only grow louder.

 

Only an idiot would believe that Trump had their back, and the repercussions of Trump's follies, misadventures, dubious schemes and disloyalties are starting to come home.

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

Squeak Squeak!

 

 

 

Squeak squeak the witch is dead,

Which old witch, the wicked witch,

Squeak squeak the wicked witch is dead.

To anybody following this it was already very clear, now it has been confirmed.

But will this be enough to convince senate republicans, I very much doubt it. Facts don't matter anymore to the people, and I think facts don't matter anywhere anymore.

 

Hope to be proven wrong.

Typical American politics...may the liar with the best story win the contest.

 

This impeachment inquiry smells exactly like the Russia probe...

 

A "Hail Mary" by the Dems who know they have no chance to defeat Trump in the 2020 General Election.

 

Sad to see how far American politics have fallen into dysfunction...????

 

 

11 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Typical American politics...may the liar with the best story win the contest.

 

This impeachment inquiry smells exactly like the Russia probe...

 

A "Hail Mary" by the Dems who know they have no chance to defeat Trump in the 2020 General Election.

 

Sad to see how far American politics have fallen into dysfunction...????

 

 

So you're perfectly OK with an administration extorting/bribing another country in classic mafia style?

 

"It would be a shame if that military aid you so desperately need were withheld. I need a favor though."

Interesting, but this makes no difference.  McConnell has just said that President Trump will not be removed from office based on what they have now.  Also, there are no audio recordings of the phone call which is what brought down Nixon.  We really don't know what was said on that phone call.

1 hour ago, Tug said:

But but Donald said it was a perfect calllllllll.   Lol his defense is dead now he will switch to well I was bad but it’s not impeachable I beg to differ

Trump didn’t only say it was a perfect call, he said he spoke wit Mitch McConnell about it and that McConnell told him it was a perfect call.

 

When asked about this, McConnell stated he has never had a discussion with Trump about the call.

 

He could have said ‘I don’t discuss my private calls with the President’ but he chose instead to expose Trump’s lie.

 

Illiberals can ponder why McConnell who is key to defending Trump in the Senate chose to expose Trump’s lie and what that says about their hopes that Republicans on the Senate will save Trump.

42 minutes ago, stevenl said:

To anybody following this it was already very clear, now it has been confirmed.

But will this be enough to convince senate republicans, I very much doubt it. Facts don't matter anymore to the people, and I think facts don't matter anywhere anymore.

 

Hope to be proven wrong.

The Republicans in the Senate will follow public opinion.

 

They will never do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.

24 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

Interesting, but this makes no difference.  McConnell has just said that President Trump will not be removed from office based on what they have now.  Also, there are no audio recordings of the phone call which is what brought down Nixon.  We really don't know what was said on that phone call.

We know where the official full transcript is (hidden in a high security server) and we know who put it there.

 

We also know the ‘summary’ issued by Trump was doctored to remove incriminating evidence.

 

I’m not sure why you believe tape recordings are necessary.

2 minutes ago, BestB said:

In the mean time Burisma Lobbied Obama-Era State Dept. To Pressure Ukraine To Fire Top Prosecutor

 

New documents have revealed a massive lobbying effort at the Obama-era State Department by Ukrainian energy company Burisma. The newly released State Department documents show Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire its top prosecutor back in 2016, which is about a month after Burisma reached out to the agency.https://www.oann.com/reports-burisma-lobbied-obama-era-state-dept-to-pressure-ukraine-to-fire-top-prosecutor/

But but but ..... (insert already debunked nonsense)

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

But but but ..... (insert already debunked nonsense)

No but but but, but deflect away, makes all the more entertaining to watch.

 

Will wait for 2020 and let you come up with some but but but????

27 minutes ago, J Town said:

So you're perfectly OK with an administration extorting/bribing another country in classic mafia style?

 

"It would be a shame if that military aid you so desperately need were withheld. I need a favor though."

For me, the jury is still out...obviously, you and a whole host of Trump haters have made your decision...????

1 minute ago, Puchaiyank said:

For me, the jury is still out...obviously, you and a whole host of Trump haters have made your decision...????

I must say that for a staunch Trump defender such as you this 'the jury is still out' is a big step.

52 minutes ago, stevenl said:

 

But will this be enough to convince senate republicans, I very much doubt it. Facts don't matter anymore to the people, and I think facts don't matter anywhere anymore.

 

Hope to be proven wrong.

Unless a new, separate issue comes to light, I imagine this is not enough to impeach the President.

 

What really concerns me is that Trump's tactics are now the new norm. Disinformation, being openly hostile to detractors, pleading openly to have people break federal laws (identifying the whistleblower) and openly lying to the people.

 

Trump has now set the platform for future politics and you can expect people to up the anti after he is gone. We can only hope that the next President after Trump sees the incoming problems and has the numbers in the house and the senate to put measures in place that absolutely stop this sort of abhorrent behavior from happening any more.

4 minutes ago, BestB said:

No but but but, but deflect away, makes all the more entertaining to watch.

 

Will wait for 2020 and let you come up with some but but but????

Do what I do when I see a news item I think worthy of discussion, write a note to 'webfact', provide a link and ask for a topic to be opened.

Who knows, you might have a story worth discussing. 

But in this thread it's 'trumped up' whataboutary (pun intended). 

1 minute ago, Farangwithaplan said:

Unless a new, separate issue comes to light, I imagine this is not enough to impeach the President.

 

What really concerns me is that Trump's tactics are now the new norm. Disinformation, being openly hostile to detractors, pleading openly to have people break federal laws (identifying the whistleblower) and openly lying to the people.

 

Trump has now set the platform for future politics and you can expect people to up the anti after he is gone. We can only hope that the next President after Trump sees the incoming problems and has the numbers in the house and the senate to put measures in place that absolutely stop this sort of abhorrent behavior from happening any more.

The seperate issue is trump telling his staff not to testify. That is obstruction of justice even according to lindsay graham

3 hours ago, webfact said:

offered new details to lawmakers on Monday after his memory was "refreshed,"

Does that mean he was caught in a lie,then decided to tell the truth ?

regards Worgeordie

31 minutes ago, Sujo said:

The seperate issue is trump telling his staff not to testify. That is obstruction of justice even according to lindsay graham

Looking at the reactions here his supporters don't care about details like that. After all he is doing nothing but defending himself against this witch hunt.

1 hour ago, J Town said:

So you're perfectly OK with an administration extorting/bribing another country in classic mafia style?

 

"It would be a shame if that military aid you so desperately need were withheld. I need a favor though."

Surely "extortion" is when you are demanding money from another party !

2 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

Surely "extortion" is when you are demanding money from another party !

Money or favours. Maybe you can use a dictionary to avoid a discussion like this?

"..offered new details to lawmakers on Monday after his memory was "refreshed,"..."

It bothers me that these people go in, swear to tell the truth, lie under oath and then are allowed to offer "new details" when caught out in their perjury.

The only reason they finally fess up is they are caught in lie. They would not come back and "amend" testimony if they hadn't been caught.

Clinton was impeached for perjury in deposition. Funny he wasn't allowed to offer "new details" to escape that charge... One might think lying to Congress would be more egregious than lying about some affair in deposition to a court.

As I said earlier, if Trump's supporters didn't like the closed session investigations they are just going to love the public hearings. 

 

The publication of these transcripts is the rug being pulled under the 'but but but... its all done in secret'. 

 

 

Enjoy.

34 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

Surely "extortion" is when you are demanding money from another party !

Well how about withholding 400 mil worth of weapons when your home is under threat surely that would count!

1 hour ago, J Town said:

So you're perfectly OK with an administration extorting/bribing another country in classic mafia style?

 

"It would be a shame if that military aid you so desperately need were withheld. I need a favor though."

Well, if a Vice President's son is guaranteed a job in an industry he knows nothing about...we should be OK with it...nothing to see in the Biden extortion/bribing debacle...

8 minutes ago, Tug said:

Well how about withholding 400 mil worth of weapons when your home is under threat surely that would count!

What’s the threat?