In his opening statement during public impeachment hearings Wednesday, Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, gave one of the most explicit, jarring confirmations of a quid pro quo agreement implicating the Trump administration and the Ukrainian president.
On Tuesday, November, 20, Vindman testified in front of Congress and spoke of a July meeting where Sondland said the Ukraine president had to deliver "a special investigation," to secure a meeting with President Trump.
Taylor spoke on the first day of pubic hearings and testified that he was told Sondland had told Ukrainian presidential aid Andriy Yermak that military aid for Ukraine was preconditioned on the launching of an investigation into the Biden. Taylor's closed-door testimony forced Sondland to amend his original testimony and admit a quid pro quo had occurred.
A former senior national security aid and Trump loyalist, Morrison was reportedly the one who told Taylor about Sondland's conversation with Yermak regarding military aid. "I can confirm that the substance of [Taylor's] statement, as it relates to conversations he and I had, is accurate," Morrison testified in closed-door hearings.
Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, testified in closed-door hearing that the State Department special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker had indicated to her in August that the hold on military aid for Ukraine would be released if Ukrainian president Zelensky offered a public commitment to support an investigation into the Biden family. Cooper testified in public hearings on Wednesday, November 20.
While Johnson isn't himself an impeachment witness, his statements attempting to defend the president have involved mention of the quid pro quo. According to the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said he was told by Sondland of a potential quid pro quo between Trump and the Ukrainian president.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Johnson said Trump had conveyed the quid pro quo in question to him via an August 31 phone conversation. He said he tried to get Trump to release Ukrainian military aid but was unsuccessful.
Despite his close involvement with Ukraine, Johnson has emerged as one of the staunchest defenders of Trump during the impeachment hearings.
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