Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will testify that the now-famous “no quid pro quo” text which he sent to US Charge D’Affaires Bill Taylor on September 9, 2019, was in fact dictated to him by President Donald J. Trump. This is according to a Washington Post report by Aaron C. Davis and John Hudson. He will further testify that he had no knowledge as to whether or not Trump was telling him the truth at that moment. “It’s only true that the President said it,” their source is quoted as saying.
Here is the text exchange in question, which the White House and its defenders have been holding up as evidence that there was, in fact, no quid pro quo:
According to the Post source, “The person familiar with Sondland’s testimony said the ambassador “believed Trump at the time and on that basis passed along assurances” that Trump was not withholding military aid for political purposes.
Regarding whether that is actually true, the person said, Sondland will not take an opinion, and instead will tell lawmakers that he worked at the direction of President Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to secure a statement from Ukraine’s government confirming a criminal investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
