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On the Question, Was There a Quid Pro Quo? Sondland Answers, ‘Yes’
CNSNews.com ^ | November 20, 2019 | Susan Jones

Posted on 11/20/2019 7:27:46 AM PST by pilgrim

“At all times, I was acting in good faith,” Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland told Congress in his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing of the House intelligence committee:

“As a presidential appointee, I followed the directions of the president. We worked with Mr. Giuliani because the President directed us to do so. We had no desire to set any conditions on the Ukrainians.”

But Giuliani did set conditions, Sondland said in his statement.

On the question, was there a quid pro quo? Sondland answered, “yes.”

“As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.”

Sondland said Giuliani told Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Ambassador Kurt Volker and others “that President Trump wanted a public statement from President Zelensky committing to investigations of Burisma and the 2016 election.

“Mr. Giuliani expressed those requests directly to the Ukrainians. Mr. Giuliani also expressed those requests directly to us. We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements.”

Sondland said his personal view, which he “shared repeatedly with others,” was that the White House meeting and military assistance should have proceeded without preconditions.

“Our only interest was to advance longstanding U.S. policy and to support Ukraine’s fragile democracy.” Sondland said he learned “in July and August” that the White House had suspended security aid to Ukraine:

“I was adamantly opposed to any suspension of aid,” he said. “I tried diligently to ask why the aid was suspended, but I never received a clear answer. In the absence of any credible explanation for the suspension of aid, I later came to believe that the resumption of security aid would not occur until there was a public statement from Ukraine committing to the investigations of the 2016 election and Burisma, as Mr. Giuliani had demanded.

“I shared concerns of the potential quid pro quo regarding the security aid with Senator Ron Johnson. And I also shared my concerns with the Ukrainians,” Sondland said.

Sondland also described President Trump’s skepticism toward Ukraine: “He expressed concerns that the Ukrainian government was not serious about reform. He even mentioned that Ukraine tried to take him down in the last election.”

Sondland confirmed he made a call to President Trump from a Kiev restaurant on July 26.

“I remember I was at a restaurant in Kiev, and I have no reason to doubt that this conversation included the subject of investigations.”

Sondland said he knew that investigations were “important to President Trump.”

However, Sondland said he has no recollection of discussing the Bidens on that phone call. He did not dispute other witness accounts of the call, which Trump said he does not remember.

“I know nothing about that,” Trump told a news conference on Nov. 13.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: 116th; fakenews; obamalegacy; quidproquo; sondland; tds; trumpukraine; upset
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To: Rdct29
At some point -- especially if the Democrats actually DO vote to impeach President Trump -- I expect Trump to just come right out and say some variation of the following:

"Of course I wanted to make sure the Ukraine government took the proper steps regarding corruption investigations. It would be disgraceful to have American taxpayer funds sent to Ukraine in the form of financial assistance, only to have a lot of it end up in the pockets of the Biden family."

121 posted on 11/20/2019 9:57:49 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey.")
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To: Drew68

They have. The Fake News clown show noise machine, including Faux News, is simply ignoring everything said by the President and his team to freak up and hype the current Demcorat lie

Here the probably for today’s lie

They all missed THIS statement

Sondland: “I’ve never heard from President Trump that the aid was conditioned on the investigations.”

Game over. That he assumed something is utterly irrelevant.


122 posted on 11/20/2019 10:00:37 AM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have to abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: pilgrim
Didn’t mr clinton sign some sort of agreement with Ukraine to that effect? Not sure, but somewhere on the net or here saw something to that effect.

Yes. It's at the link below.

Treaty with Ukraine on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

Formal Title:
Treaty Between the United States of America and Ukraine on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Annex, signed at Kiev on July 22, 1998, and with an Exchange of Notes signed on September 30, 1999, which provides for its provisional application.

123 posted on 11/20/2019 10:04:03 AM PST by Mozzafiato
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To: pilgrim

“Sondland also described President Trump’s skepticism toward Ukraine: “He expressed concerns that the Ukrainian government was not serious about reform. He even mentioned that Ukraine tried to take him down in the last election.’”

That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it. He was afraid the new government was going to continue their fraudulent ways - like the US Democratic Party. They make many promises and never deliver.


124 posted on 11/20/2019 10:24:12 AM PST by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said theoal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: pilgrim
It is a foregone conclusion that Trump will be impeached for something and go to the Senate for trial. This quid pro quo is nonsense and we do it all the time..example sanctions against Iran. That this is some horrendous plot to steal the nomination from poor old Joe Biden and thus get Trump re-elected is a joke. Biden has little chance of getting the nomination for lots of other reasons. The Democrats forget that once this mess goes to the Senate some embarrassing facts will be revealed. The whistleblower will be subpoenaed and under fair cross examination will be torn apart. Adam Schiff will also be subpoenaed and the whole conspiracy will unravel. The Bidens may be asked some embarrassing questions and that video of Old Joe boasting how he got the prosecutor fired by threatening to withhold aid will get lots of air time. The Senate will not vote to remove a Trump from office.

The American people will be sick and tired of this crap when they go to the polls next November and ask why Congress hasn’t addressed real problems that face them. Trump will be re-elected and then the stuff hits the fan. The Democrats will again try to remove him from office, but having exhausted the investigations and impeachment will be left with only a Bolshevik style revolution. I see very tough times ahead including civil war.

125 posted on 11/20/2019 10:26:43 AM PST by The Great RJ ("Socialists are happy until they run out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda
"So let me get this straight: They want Trump impeached for doing what Biden did - which Trump didn’t do - yet they are OK with Biden becoming POTUS"

Only the mentally challenged Democrats would try to prove that President Trump demanded quid pro quo while asking the Ukraine to investigate an actual taped admission of quid pro quo by Joe Biden. I can see Biden doing something that stupid since he freely admitted on tape at a public gathering, that he threatened Ukraine officials to do his bidding or else...no money. But Trump is not a stupid man. He's a shrewd businessman, and wan't born yesterday.

126 posted on 11/20/2019 10:35:13 AM PST by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: pilgrim

It is the President’s responsibility to see that our money is not used, directly or indirectly, to finance corrupt American practices. (And how else would one interpret the Biden behavior? Does anyone really believe he earned the Ukranian money, in an ethical interaction?))


127 posted on 11/20/2019 10:36:31 AM PST by Ohioan
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To: elpadre

That is it!!


128 posted on 11/20/2019 10:40:41 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: Ohioan

It is!!

Well, the ‘screenwriter wannabe’ is correcting the record!


129 posted on 11/20/2019 10:42:21 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: gibsonguy
They shouldn't admit to a QPQ if there wasn't one. But they should be defending the following:

The only thing that would be wrong is if Ukraine was asked to make up stuff on the Bidens. That didn't occur. It did occur with Hillary/Fusion asking Ukraine to make up dirt on Trump and Manafort.

130 posted on 11/20/2019 10:43:54 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: The Great RJ

I agree, President Trump will be ‘peached’!!!

I do not have a lot of confidence in ‘any’ politician, Senate included. A lot of promises have been made and a lot not kept!

The one who has kept most, President Trump has eclipsed them all!


131 posted on 11/20/2019 10:45:21 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: DannyTN

Actually those should read “right and obligation to demand” where there is apparent evidence of wrongdoing and/or conflict of interest.


132 posted on 11/20/2019 10:45:21 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: Mozzafiato

Thanks for the link. Will try to bookmark it!


133 posted on 11/20/2019 10:51:56 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: billyboy15

Actually, I am feeling a lot better about Sondland’s testimony after Nunes and the GOP legal counsel brought up some key points.

I apologize for my “clutching pearls” comments.

Please don’t call me a Never Trumper.


134 posted on 11/20/2019 10:52:50 AM PST by hawkaw
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To: Texas resident

We saw that when Mrs Clinton refused to accept her loss and instructed unelected wonks and bureaucrats to #Resist Trump’s presidency. Monkeywrench the works and sabotage his agenda

And they dare question Trump for asking some individuals if he had their loyalty


135 posted on 11/20/2019 10:55:16 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Recall that unqualified Hillary Clinton sat on the board of Wal-Mart when Bill Clinton was governor)
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To: All

Mr Turner just made him eat his words!!!

Great!


136 posted on 11/20/2019 11:11:54 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: pilgrim

‘screenwriter’ writing script!!!


137 posted on 11/20/2019 11:13:58 AM PST by pilgrim
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To: wiley

Yea that was before i started actually listening today and I was going by freepers’ hysteria.

I am gonna walk that back but I still don’t trust Giuliani. Not that he is a traitor but he has pretty bad judgment. But as to my claim earlier, I feel a little better at least about that.


138 posted on 11/20/2019 11:40:48 AM PST by DrewsMum
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To: Truthoverpower

You dont have to be insulting.

I am open to hearing how I missed the mark. That was a knee jerk reaction to Freepers accounts this morning.


139 posted on 11/20/2019 11:42:16 AM PST by DrewsMum
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To: MNJohnnie

I am not a never trumper at all but thanks for playing the ASS uming game.

I was giving a reaction and stating a fear that Trump might be being usurped. That’s the opposite of a never Trumper.


140 posted on 11/20/2019 11:44:37 AM PST by DrewsMum
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