Bill Taylor – Trump’s own top diplomat to Ukraine – made it clear in his testimony today that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo.
TRUMP INSISTED ON AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE INVESTIGATIONS: Trump himself pressed for the Ukrainian president to make a public announcement of investigations into Trump’s political rival and a conspiracy theory about the 2016 election.
“According to Mr. Morrison, President Trump told Ambassador Sondland that he was not asking for a ‘quid pro quo.’ But President Trump did insist that President Zelenskyy go to a microphone.
and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference, and that President Zelenskyy should want to do this himself. Mr. Morrison said that he told Ambassador Bolton and the NSC lawyers of this phone call between President Trump and Ambassador Sandland.”
“EVERYTHING” WAS DEPENDENT ON THE INVESTIGATIONS: Sondland said that “everything” was dependent on Ukraine publicly announcing the investigations that Trump wanted.
“Amb. Sondland also told me that he now recognized that he had made a mistake by earlier telling the Ukrainian officials to whom he spoke that a White House meeting with President Zelenskyy was dependent on a public announcement of investigations — in fact, Amb. Sondland said, ‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance.’”
OR ELSE, U.S. AND UKRAINE WOULD REACH A “STALEMATE”: Ambassador Sondland told Ukraine’s president that if Zelensky failed to make the public announcement requested by Trump, the U.S and Ukraine would be at a “stalemate.”
“Ambassador Sondland said that he had talked to President Zelenskyy and Mr. Yermak and told them that, although this was not a quid pro quo, if President Zelenskyy did not ‘clear things up’ in public, we would be at a ‘stalemate.’ I understood a ‘stalemate’ to mean that Ukraine would not receive the much-needed military assistance. Ambassador Sondland said that this conversation concluded with President Zelenskky agreeing to make a public statement in an interview with CNN.”
UKRAINE NEEDED TO MAKE CLEAR IT WASN’T STANDING IN THE WAY OF THE INVESTIGATIONS: Ambassador Sondland told Taylor that the Ukrainian president needed to make it clear to Trump that he would not stand in the way of the “investigations” that were requested by Trump.
“On June 27, Ambassador Sondland told me during a phone conversation that President Zelenskyy needed to make clear to President Trump that he, President Zelenskyy, was not standing in the way of ‘investigations.’”