Posted on 11/05/2019 12:16:29 PM PST by yesthatjallen
A top diplomat appointed by President Trump revised his testimony to lawmakers in the House's impeachment inquiry, saying in the latest version that the president’s dealings with Ukraine amounted to a clear quid pro quo.
U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland said Trump withheld U.S. military aid to Ukraine in an effort to secure investigations into the 2016 election and the president’s political adversaries, according to a transcript released Tuesday by Democrats conducting the impeachment investigation.
His testimony and that of former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker was released Tuesday.
Sondland, a Republican mega-donor who gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, was interviewed by lawmakers behind closed doors on Oct. 17 but revised his testimony on Monday, after a string of subsequent witnesses appeared before the three committees leading the impeachment investigation.
In the revision, Sondland said he recalled a Sept. 1 meeting with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the aid was contingent on a public statement from Zelensky regarding launching probes that would benefit Trump politically.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
You give a bunch of money, then you lie?
So he’s not lying THIS time.
FOAD Big Media, as always!
Sondland will get caught and get strung up. He has no idea on what he is dealing with. I am just as comfortable executing Republicans as well as Democrats for treason.
Blackmail.
Problem with this false reporting it the transcript is an “experpt” not a actual full account of what he said. It also not under oath hearsay. There was no cross exhamination under oath. Basically only the Democrat Fascist Party things you can change the testimony after the fact. They tried the same thing with the Muller Clown show and the Kaughaugh circus.
“I presumed that the aid suspension had become linked to the proposed anticorruption statement,” Mr. Sondland said.
His own personal “presumption” is NOT “clear quid pro quo”
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191105_-_sondland_transcript_excerpts_final.pdf
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191105_-_volker_transcript_excerpts_final.pdf
Notice the titles Transcript Excerpts
He probably did not say probes "that would benefit Trump politically". Probably said "probes into corruption", or some such thing. The phrase used in the article is probably fake news.
“...in which the aid was contingent on a public statement from Zelensky regarding launching probes that would benefit Trump politically. “
With what Sondland actually said
“...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.”
From the same article, and from consecutive sentences.
Normal diplomatic relations are all about quid pro quo, so there is nothing wrong with that. Note that he says the funds were withheld until Ukraine committed to investigating corruption. That is a completely acceptable condition. He does not say they were conditioned on investigating Hunter Biden.
Objection, assuming facts not in evidence, lack of personal knowledge, and speculation.
Ok, so he testified one way, then he made a completely contradictory statement. In other words, he lied in his testimony, regardless of which version you accept.
Michael Flynn was financially ruined, and threatened with jail time for a much less significant lie.
No. He stated his presumption. That is not the same as he had fact based evidence. Also there is nothing wrong with the President putting conditions on the release or awarding of foreign aid provided the conditions are legal. Asking the Ukraine to meet treaty obligations is not against the law.
It seems MSM and Democrats do not know what a quid-pro-quo is. It is not for example offering what you have a right to offer in exchange for what you have a right to receive from someone who has the right to give it.
Telling a lawn service “I will pay you $45.00 to mow the grass if you also weed.” Is not quid-pro-quo.
Telling him “I will give you my oxy if you break into my neighbor’s house. If you say no I will say you stole the pills.”
CIA threaten to kill Sondland? Inquiring minds need to know.
That is TRUMP'S ARTICLE 2 RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!
This is NOT "Please dig up dirt on my opponent."!!!
Scooter Libby was unavailable for comment.
Help me understand. Ukraine got the military aid. ( Which Obama refused to provide for 8 years.) What exactly did we get from Ukraine? What was the quo?
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