2.Sondland then explicitly confirms the quid pro quo – and SAYS THIS WAS DONE BECAUSE OF THE PRESIDENT’S DESIRES pic.twitter.com/rvNHg64rGm— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 20, 2019
The key issue here is that the President wanted an announcement of an investigation. He did not demand an investigation conditional upon releasing the aid; just the announcement, by a date certain.
3. Sondland then says cutting off of military aid was wrong, + that Ukraine needed those funds to fight off Russian aggression. But he says the quid pro quo to look into Burisma superceded policy goals. Sondland says he brought quid pro quo concerns to Congress, to Sen Johnson pic.twitter.com/JSx5zhXXHW— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 20, 2019
A/k/a the Dumbest Man in the Senate.
5.Sondland now magically remembers the phone call with Trump he failed to mention in his previous testimony (perhaps because other witnesses have reported it to Congress in the interim, and say they overheard it because it took place in a restaurant). pic.twitter.com/WFKQ3eTK8x— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 20, 2019
Underlining Trump wanted an announcement, not the conclusion of a complete investigation. Just the announcement.
6.Just to make absolutely sure, Sondland then details once again there was a quid pro quo, in a separate section of his testimony devoted entirely to it. pic.twitter.com/YZSkG1qun6— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 20, 2019
Ditto.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 20, 2019
Yeah; but not, I think, for the reasons Rick thinks.
This will seem like inside baseball to some; maybe so inside it's under the seams. I don't think so. People generally understand fairness and propriety, and demanding the announcement of an investigation indicates you don't care about the alleged impropriety against an opponent, you just want to be able to make the allegation. When McCarthy went down, it was because all he had was allegations; he never had the evidence to back it up; not even a typewriter, not even stuffed in a hollowed out pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. He had nothing.
Trump has nothing. People understand that. That's the bomb that's going to go off.
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