Amb. Gordon Sondland confirmed a quid pro quo—which Pres. Trump has denied. More key takeaways from Sondland's testimony:
Sondland is considered a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. Trump wanted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to announce an investigation that would have, in part, targeted the president’s 2020 political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter, who had served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
By early September, Sondland said he made another connection -- that nearly $400 million in U.S. aid was on the line, too. Sondland said Trump"never told them directly that the aid was conditioned" upon the investigations. When the Democratic counsel asked whether he made that connection based on the evidence adding up, Sondland said yes.
As he"understood it," the Ukrainians only"had to announce the investigations, [Zelenskiy] didn't actually have to do them," Sondland said.Sondland said no one he talked to supported the hold on aid and that he personally shared his concerns of a"quid pro quo" with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
When asked whether Pompeo"was aware of the connections that you were making between the investigation and the White house meeting and the security assistance," Sondland simply replied"yes.’Pompeo has declined to respond to Sondland’s testimony when shouted questions by reporters on a trip to Brussels. In a previous interview on ABC’s"This Week," Pompeo did not answer questions on Giuliani’s efforts.
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