For political journalists searching for “pizazz” from these impeachment hearings, the day 4 morning session brought exactly that. The U.S. ambassador to the European Union (and Pres. Trump appointee/GOP donor) Gordon Sondland testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee this morning that Pres. Trump told advisers in July that a White House meeting for Ukraine’s new Pres. Zelensky could only happen if the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to launch investigations into Trump’s Democratic rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’” said Sondland, “The answer is yes.”
The former U.S. ambassador to the E.U. added: “Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret,” Sondland said.
On the other hand, when Republican counsel Stephen Castor asked Sondland if Pres. Trump ever told him about “any preconditions for anything” (aid, White House meeting)? Sondland said, “personally, no.”
Below are some early reactions from TV newsers concerning Sondland’s testimony. We’ll continue to update this post as more tidbits roll in.
Ken Starr, lead prosecutor in Clinton impeachment hearings: “There is now proof that the President (Trump) committed the crime of bribery…This has been one of those bombshell days.”
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) November 20, 2019
This line will surely be a big part of GOP questioning — but Sondland testifies he came to his own “conclusion” that the aid was tied. https://t.co/CUH2lrAnDm
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) November 20, 2019
.@margbrennan on the first part of Sondland’s testimony: Today Sondland says there was a quid pro quo, “very different from the first version of his deposition.” pic.twitter.com/avSJTukj5t
— Norah O’Donnell🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) November 20, 2019
WATCH: @chucktodd: “We are living in a moment where we have a part of one of our major political parties that is just not accepting the premise, is just not accepting facts that are facts.” pic.twitter.com/onoTqugG7f
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 13, 2019
.@marykbruce: “Republicans here on the Hill know that this does not look good. Some of the president’s closest allies here on the Hill are privately expressing concern with what they are hearing from Gordon Sondland today.” https://t.co/BPC2DKUMGB #ImpeachmentHearings pic.twitter.com/JXZcFaB7Q1
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 20, 2019
Sondland testifies he wanted to impose zero conditions on ukraine but Trump through GIULIANI insisted on Ukraine. Announcing investigations into Burisma/Bidens and Ukraine’s role in 2016 election. (Which former Trump aide Bossert has called a debunked conspiracy theory.)
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 20, 2019
ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz: “I think what you saw here today, you had these two parallel tracks that we’ve been talking about with these impeachment hearings on foreign policy, to push back Russian aggression, the official foreign policy of the United States, and you have this other highway of a President that they’re alleging was trying to do this for personal, political gain, and this investigation and today those highways collided and [Sec. of State] Mike Pompeo was right in the middle of that. You and I have heard him equivocate about this, be evasive about this…pretending he was completely out of the loop if in fact this is correct.”
She added: “But today, Sondland says we kept the leadership of the State Department and the NSC informed of our activities. That included communications with Secretary of State Pompeo, throughout these events we kept State Department leadership apprised of these, they were aware that a commitment to investigations was among the issues we were pursuing, State Department leadership expressed total support for our efforts to engage the new Ukrainian administration.”
Weijia says “is there a bus big enough to run over all the people who are going down today?” asks CBS News White House correspondent Weija Jiang, rhetorically.
.@weijia breaks down President Trump’s notes from the White House: “We have seen this before…When the president wants to make points that he has come up with that he believes will vindicate him when he is attacked” https://t.co/rEoy7Nnhjo pic.twitter.com/uL7mPlxjAz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 20, 2019
This “being thrown under the bus” theme was echoed by Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace.
WATCH: