Tipsheet

Sondland Kills Another Democrat Claim on a Quid-Pro-Quo

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  November 20, 2019 1:45 PM

Speaking during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland said President Trump never asked him directly for a quid-pro-quo related to Ukraine.

President Trump reiterated these remarks to reporters at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

"Ambassador Sondland’s testimony made clear that in one of the few brief phone calls he had with President Trump, the President clearly stated that he ‘wanted nothing’ from Ukraine and repeated ‘no quid pro quo over and over again.’ In fact, no quid pro quo ever occurred. The U.S. aid to Ukraine flowed, no investigation was launched, and President Trump has met and spoken with President Zelensky. Democrats keep chasing ghosts," White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham released in a statement.

Additionally, in discussions with Sondland, President Trump never put down any preconditions for aid. Sondland also said nobody ever "sounded any alarm bell" about what was going on.

"No one said, back off of Ukraine, this is dangerous, you're doing something that's untoward. We have concerns. There was a bad phone call on July 25th. There’s talk about a drug cocktail or something. No one ever said that to me by phone, by text, by email. I don't remember anybody sounding any alarm bell because, of course, had someone mentioned it, I would have sat up and taken notice. Everyone’s hair was on fire but no one decided to talk to us," he said.

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The attorney questioning Sondland on behalf of Republicans, Steven Castor, expressed frustration over Sondland's failure to include this information in his opening statement.