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Sondland's Divisive Testimony

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Sondland testifies that he, Giuliani, and Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate Biden in quid pro quo. In their article, Fox focuses exclusively on an interchange between Turner and Sondland, and a response by Meadows, stating that Sondland never heard anyone explicitly state quid pro quo. Reuters neglects that fact, but provides a host of others. The Fox article lends a lot of word-space to Turner declaring Sondland's presumption to be nothing, and Turner's argument on CNN's headline is inconsistent (i.e. Sondland did say there was quid pro quo based on his presumption, so even if Sondland was wrong or it was nothing, the CNN title was correct). On the other hand, the omission from Reuters of Sondland's response that he heard no one state quid pro quo is shocking.
Common Facts
Definitions (10)
Giuliani: Rudy Giuliani is Trump's personal attorney
Sondland: Gordon Sondland is the U.S. ambassador to the European Union
Zelenskiy : Volodymyr Zelenskiy (or Zelensky) is the Ukrainian president
Pompeo: Mike Pompeo is the U.S. Secretary of State
McConnell: Mitch McConnell is a Republican senator from Kentucky and the Senate Majority Leader
Quid pro quo: Quid pro quo is a Latin term indicating that that something has been traded for something else of equal value
HRIC: The House of Representatives Intelligence Committee is taking the lead on the impeachment inquiry
Biden: Joe Biden is a former Vice President of the United States and a Democratic candidate running for President
Turner: Mike Turner is a Republican Representative from Ohio
Meadows: Mark Meadows is a Republican Representative from North Carolina
Review Info (3)
First Published: 11/21/2019 01:12:40 am
Last Updated: 11/21/2019 02:01:41 am
Original Front Page Link
Reuters
Content (25)
Sondland is a key witness in the impeachment inquiry
Sondland said he worked with Giuliani on Ukraine issues on "the President's orders."
Sondland claimed that Giuliani's efforts to push Zelenskiy for an investigation into Biden's family "were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit"
Sondland is a wealthy hotel entrepreneur
Sondland is a Trump donor
Sondland said Pompeo was aware and "fully supportive" of his and Giuliani's efforts with Ukraine
Sondland appeared before the HRIC on Wednesday
Sondland "smiled and laughed as he took his seat at the witness chair in the hearing room on Capitol Hill"
"The [impeachment] inquiry focuses on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Zelenskiy to carry out two investigations"
One investigation was to target Biden
The other investigation involved a theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. election
Ahead of this call, Trump froze $391 million in U.S. security aid approved by Congress to help Ukraine combat Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
"Democrats have accused Trump of using the frozen aid and Zelenskiy's desire for an Oval Office meeting as leverage to pressure a vulnerable U.S. ally to dig up dirt on political adversaries"
Trump is running for reelection next year
Sondland was one of three Trump allies who largely took over U.S.-Ukraine policy in May
Giuliani also played a key role
Giuliani holds no official government position.
Career U.S. diplomats have portrayed Sondland in their testimony as a central figure in a Ukraine policy operation
"Trump has denied wrongdoing, called the inquiry a witch hunt and assailed some of the witnesses including current White House aides."
"Sondland was tapped as Trump's envoy after he donated $1 million to the president's inauguration."
"In October, Trump called him 'a really good man,'"
"but after Sondland's amended statement to House investigators this month the president told reporters at the White House, 'I hardly know the gentleman.'"
"The investigation could lead the House to approve formal charges against Trump – called articles of impeachment – that would be sent to the Republican-controlled Senate for a trial on whether to remove him from office."
Few Republican senators have broken with Trump.
McConnell "said on Tuesday it was 'inconceivable' that two-thirds of the Republican-controlled chamber would vote to convict Trump."
Opinion (5)
The impeachment inquiry threatens Trump's presidency
The theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. election is a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies
Career U.S. diplomats portrayed Sondland's pressing for quid pro quo was part of a shadow and "irregular" Ukraine policy operation
…which undercut official channels
…and pressed Kiev to investigate the Bidens
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/20/2019 02:17:00 pm
Date Accessed: 11/20/2019 07:38:00 pm
Article Author: Patricia Zengerle
Click here to see the article
Fox News
Content (17)
Turner seized "on Sondland's admission that he never heard the president or anyone else in the White House explicitly link Ukrainian aid with the opening of an investigation into 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter."
Meadows applauded Turner for producing "the real bombshell" of Sondland's testimony
Meadows marked the response from Sondland as "Game over." insinuating that the impeachment inquiry is over.
The impeachment inquiry "is focusing on an alleged quid pro quo between President Trump and Ukraine linking military aid and White House access to Ukraine probes beneficial to Trump."
Turner asked Sondland: "Is that your testimony today, Mr. Sondland? That you have evidence that Donald Trump tied the investigation to the aid? Because I don't think you're saying that."
Sondland admitted he was "presuming" that the delayed aid was linked to Trump asking Zelenskiy for an investigation into the Bidens.
"Turner focused on the Republican Party's main defense of Trump"
Turner: "So no one told you", "Not just the president. Giuliani didn't tell you, Mulvaney didn't tell you. Nobody. Pompeo didn't tell you. Nobody else on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying aid to these investigations. Is that correct?"
Turner then cut Sondland off and restated his point: "No one on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying this aid to the investigations, … No one on this planet told you that President Trump was tying aid to investigations. Yes or no?"
Sondland: "Yes"
Turner: "So, you really have no testimony today that ties President Trump to a scheme to withhold aid from Ukraine in exchange for these investigations?"
Sondland: "Other than my own presumption"
Meadows shared a CNN headline on Twitter while : "SONDLAND: 'YES' THERE WAS QUID PRO QUO IN UKRAINE SCANDAL"
Sondland insistent throughout the testimony that he never explicitly heard anyone demand investigations in exchange for aid
Sondland never got a clear answer on why the aid was held up
Sondland said the absence of a clear explanation led to his presumption of quid pro quo.
Sondland: "I never said the president of the United States should be impeached"
Opinion (3)
Turner hammered Sondland during Wednesday's testimony
Turner stated "because if your answer is yes, then the chairman is wrong and the headline on CNN is wrong." with regards to Sondland's answer.
Turner: "You know what hearsay evidence is, ambassador? Hearsay is when I testify what someone else told me. Do you know what made-up testimony is? Made-up testimony is when I just presume it. I mean you're just assuming all of these things and then you're giving them the evidence that they're running out and doing press conferences and CNN's headline is saying that you're saying the president of the United States should be impeached because he tied aid to investigations — and you don't know that. Correct?"
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/20/2019 05:00:00 pm
Date Accessed: 11/20/2019 08:56:00 pm
Article Author: Vandana Rambaran
Click here to see the article