The testimony given Wednesday by the US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland was one of the most important for the public hearings in the Donald Trump impeachment case, as it confirmed the assumptions made by Democrats since September 2019.
In his opening statement, Sondland directly linked Trump to the “quid pro quo” and stated that “everyone was aware” of what was happening with Ukraine’s foreign policy. The chairman of the intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, called Sondland’s testimony “a fundamental point in our investigation”.
Sondland also indicated that he had worked with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine’s issues on “direct instructions from the President of the United States” and about several conversations with Trump about starting two investigations in Ukraine.
Up to this point, the Republicans’ key argument was that none of the witnesses spoke directly to Trump, providing first-hand information. Thus, Sondland’s statement about his many conversations with Trump on this issue is crucial for the Democrats opposing this conversation.
“I know that members of your committee often formulate this complex question in the form of a simple one: was there still a service for a service, a “quid pro quo?” – Sondland said.
“As I testified earlier, the answer is positive, regarding the requested call to the White House and meeting at the White House”, – he said.
Sondland later said:
“Everyone was in the know. It was no secret”.
These new comments confirm the testimonies of other witnesses and contradict Trump, who constantly stated that there were no guarantees with Ukraine.