I was told Trump wanted quid pro quo deal, Ukraine ambassador reportedly testifies – live – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

A Washington Post reporter summarized the opening statement of (Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador toUkraine, in this way:

According to the opening statement ofBill Taylor,Gordon Sondlandsaid that “everything,” including the release of military aid toUkraine, was tied to the country president publicly announcing investigations into (Joe Biden) and the 2016 election.

Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, said to the House committees investigating impeachment: “Ambassador Sondland also told me that he now recognized that he had made a mistake by earlier telling the Ukrainian officials to whom he spoke that a White House meeting with PresidentZelenskyywas dependent on a public announcement of investigations – in fact, Ambassador Sondland said, ‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance.

“He said that President Trump wanted President Zelenskyy ‘in a public box’ by making a public statement about ordering such investigations.”

Bill Taylorsaid in his opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment that he was preparing to resign in August over the delaying of military aid toUkraine.

The acting US ambassador to Ukraine said that he had a conversation on August 22 withTim Morrisonof the National Security Council. Morrison indicated during the phone call thatTrumpwas opposed to authorizing any military aid to Ukraine.

Taylor said: “As I had told Secretary[Mike] Pompeoin May, if the policy of strong support for Ukraine were to change, I would have to resign. Based on my call with Mr. Morrison, I was preparing to do so. ”

In his opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment,Bill Taylorsaid he was told by an official at the National Security Council thatTrumphad insisted the Ukrainian president himself publicly announce a probe intoJoe Bidenand his son.

The acting US ambassador toUkrainesaid: “President Trump did insist that PresidentZelenskygo to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference, and that President Zelensky should want to do this himself. ”

However, Taylor said that Trump had toldGordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, he was not seeking a “ quid pro quo, ”even as military aid to Ukraine hung in the balance.

At the risk of stating the obvious: if Trump demanded that the Ukrainian president make public announcements of investigations intoDemocratsbefore he would authorize the release of military aid, then his actions were the very definition of a quid pro quo.

Bill Taylorsaid in his opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment that he was concerned before accepting the role of acting US Ambassador toUkraineaboutRudy Giuliani‘s role in the country.

The longtime diplomat said: “I worried about what I had heard concerning the role of Rudolph Giuliani, who made several high-profile statements about Ukraine and U.S. policy toward the country.

“So during my meeting with Secretary[Mike] Pompeoon May 28, I made clear to him and the others present that if US policy toward Ukraine changed, he would not want me posted there and I could not stay. ”

After accepting the role, Taylor said he realized that Giuliani – along withKurt Volker,Gordon SondlandandRick Perry– controlled “an irregular, informal channel of US policy-making with respect to Ukraine. ”

Taylor said: “Although this irregular channel was well-connected in Washington, it operated mostly outside of official State Department channels.”

The Washington Posthas publisheda copy ofBill Taylor‘s opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment.

In the 15 – page statement, the acting US ambassador toUkraineand longtime civil servant describes how he became “increasingly concerned” that the US-Ukraine relationship was being “fundamentally undermined” by withholding military aid for “domestic political reasons.”

Taylor added that he stood by his Sept. 9 text message toGordon SondlandandKurt Volker, in which he said it would be “crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

It remains unknown whether the seniorTrump administrationofficial who is writing a book about being part of an internal “resistance” is still employed by the White House.

According toCNN, the literary agency representing the author declined to comment on whether the person still worked in the administration.

Here’s another piece of news that the president will surely hate: The anonymous author of a 2018 New York Times op-ed that described a “resistance” inside the government to help controlTrumpis now writing a book.

The Washington Postreports:

The book, titled, ‘A WARNING,’ is being promoted as ‘an unprecedented behind-the-scenes portrait of the Trump presidency’ that expands upon the Times column, which ricocheted around the world and stoked the president’s rage because of its devastating portrayal of Trump in office.

The column described Trump’s leadership style as’ impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective, ‘and noted that’ his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and sometimes reckless decisions that have to be walked back … ‘…

The forthcoming book will list the author as ‘Anonymous.’ Although the person does not reveal their identity in the book, they will discuss the reasons for their anonymity, according to people involved in the project.

Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador toUkraine, reportedly directly contradicted the testimony ofGordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, in his opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment.

Several HouseDemocratsinvolved in the investigation are already calling for Sondland to be called back to testify and answer for the discrepancies between the two men’s accounts.

Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, said in his opening statement to the House committees investigating impeachment that he was told military aid toUkrainewas contingent upon public announcements of investigations intoDemocrats,according to the Washington Post.

The PostReports:

Upon arriving in Kyiv last spring he became alarmed by secondary diplomatic channels involving U.S. officials that he called ‘weird,’ Taylor said, according to a copy of his lengthy opening statement obtained by The Washington Post.

Taylor walked lawmakers through a series of conversations he had with other U.S. diplomats who were trying to obtain what one called the ‘deliverable’ of Ukrainian help investigating Trump’s political rivals.

Taylor said he spoke to AmbassadorGordon Sondland, the US envoy to the European Union.

‘During that phone call, Amb. Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President[Volodymyr] Zelenskyto state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election, ‘Taylor said in the statement.

Former Vice PresidentJoe Biden‘s son Hunter had been a board member of Burisma, a large Ukrainian gas company.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, denied ever telling (Trump) that hisUkrainecall was “perfect,” as the president has claimed. Asked whether Trump was lying, the Kentucky Republican replied: “You’d have to ask him.”

McConnell also offered some muted criticism of Trump’s use of the word “lynching” to describe HouseDemocrats‘impeachment inquiry, calling it “an unfortunate choice of words.”