Gordon Sondland: “I know that members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a ‘quid pro quo?'
With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.”#ImpeachmentHearings
Gordon
Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, acknowledged telling one of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisers that resumption of
U.S. aid was tied to an anti-corruption pledge sought by Trump.
The
acknowledgment in a deposition released Tuesday was a reversal from his
earlier testimony. It puts Sondland in the middle of what national
security officials saw as an attempt by the White House to leverage
nearly $400 million in security assistance for investigations that could
benefit President Trump politically.
President Trump knew the Central
Intelligence Agency and Special Operations commandos were zeroing in on
the location for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, when he
ordered American troops to withdraw from northern Syria earlier this
month, intelligence, military and counterterrorism officials said on
Sunday.
For months, intelligence
officials had kept Mr. Trump apprised of what he had set as a top
priority, the hunt for Mr. al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted
terrorist.
But Mr. Trump’s abrupt
withdrawal order three weeks ago disrupted the meticulous planning
underway and forced Pentagon officials to speed up the plan for the
risky night raid before their ability to control troops, spies and
reconnaissance aircraft disappeared with the pullout, the officials
said.
Mr. al-Baghdadi’s death in the
raid on Saturday, they said, occurred largely in spite of, and not
because of, Mr. Trump’s actions. (our emphasis)
Let that sink in while you contemplate how he's managed to put our country on the wrong side of so many geopolitical issues, just as if he was operating as an asset of some hostile foreign autocrat...
UN chemical weapons inspectors have announced they are gathering
information following accusations that burning white phosphorus was used
by Turkish forces against children in Syria earlier this week.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said
on Friday morning that “it was aware of the situation and is collecting
information with regard to possible use of chemical weapons”.
The Kurdish Red Crescent said in a statement that six patients, both
civilian and military, were in hospital in Hasakah with burns from
“unknown weapons” and it was working to evaluate what had been used.
When you're engaging in genocide, you're not terribly particular about the weapon of mass destruction that you use.
Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland confirmed to House
impeachment investigators during his testimony on October 17 that there
was a quid pro quo in President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine,
according to Sondland’s lawyer.
The Wall Street Journal
reported on Saturday night that the lawyer, Robert Luskin, had told the
outlet his client had answered in the affirmative when a House member
asked if Trump’s demand that Ukraine investigate 2020 Democratic
candidate Joe Biden and Ukraine’s alleged election interference in 2016
in exchange for a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky amounted to quid pro quo.
Luskin said that in Sondland’s response to the question, the
ambassador “cautioned that he wasn’t a lawyer but said he believed the
answer was yes,” in the Wall Street Journal’s words. (our emphasis)
In an important development, a federal district court in Washington,
D.C. has pointed the way to a possible resolution of the standoff
between President Donald Trump and the House of Representatives over the
legitimacy of the impeachment inquiry. The court’s ruling signals that
at least part of the judiciary is prepared to help resolve the emerging
constitutional crisis — by deciding in favor of Congress and against the
president.
The
court was not directly addressing Trump’s refusal to cooperate with the
House inquiry, but rather the House Judiciary Committee’s request for
otherwise-secret grand jury testimony generated as part of Robert
Mueller’s investigation. Yet in an unwise attempt to block the Judiciary
Committee from getting that testimony, the Department of Justice argued
that a House committee can’t conduct an impeachment inquiry without a
resolution passed by the whole House. That’s the same argument that
Trump’s White House counsel has deployed to insist that the entire
impeachment inquiry is unconstitutional — and that as a result, Trump
doesn’t have to cooperate.
The district court squarely and convincingly rejected the Department of
Justice’s argument. This result strongly indicates that other judges in
the D.C. district court would similarly reject that argument if and when
Congress asks them to enforce its subpoenas against Trump
administration officials.
In case you missed it yesterday, Jake Tapper provided a good rebuttal to Cadet Bone Spurs' and his flying monkey brigade's scurrilous attacks on former Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor for his truth- telling:
Last, as usual, we would recommend a visit to Infidel 753's link round- up for a compendium of links to a wide range of items from across the internet. (It happens to be where we found the story about Turkey's possible use of chemical weapons against the Kurds in Syria.) You might also give the same worthy person a helping hand while he's going through a tight time financially. Thank you!
The
Trump administration on Tuesday blocked a planned deposition from
Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union and a central
figure in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, according to a statement
by his lawyer.
Democrats
swiftly called the administration’s move an act of obstruction and
accused President Trump of hiding information about his efforts to
pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rivals.
Democrats had earlier said that any attempt to block statements from
witnesses could constitute an impeachable act.
Sondland
was scheduled to be deposed on Tuesday morning before House committees
seeking information about his activities as Trump urged Ukraine to
investigate his political opponents, according to his lawyer, Robert
Luskin.
This is impeachable obstruction of Congress. It fits Article III of the Nixon Articles of Impeachment to a “T.” And it shows Trump and Pompeo know that Gordon Sondland’s deposition testimony would’ve totally supported the #Whistleblower re #Ukrainehttps://t.co/uLHIofYles
The timing of this is more interesting than the decision. They could've objected a week ago. Pulling the plug the morning of suggests the WH has figured out some of his answers would be really damaging. https://t.co/O34oIgsiSF
