Ambassador Sondland Says He Never Heard “Quid Pro Quo” from President Trump

Sondland: 

“I asked the President, what do you want from Ukraine? The President responded, nothing. There is no quid pro. The President repeated, no quid pro.”

Here is how President Trump responded after the testimony:

Here's more from Fox News:

European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland tied top officials to the “potential quid pro quo” involving U.S. military aid to Ukraine and investigations desired by President Trump during his highly anticipated impeachment hearing testimony on Wednesday – yet said he never heard that link from the president himself.

One of the key witnesses in the Democrat-led impeachment inquiryagainst Trump, Sondland claimed he kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo aware of what was going on and said he specifically told Vice President Pence he "had concerns" the military aid to Ukraine "had become tied" to investigations -- though a Pence aide denied it. And he repeatedly lambasted Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s leading role in the administration’s Ukraine dealings.

"Everyone was in the loop," Sondland testified. "It was no secret."

Still, in comments seized upon by Republicans, Sondland testified: “I never heard from President Trump that aid was conditioned on an announcement" of investigations. He said he never personally heard Trump discuss preconditions. And at one point, he confirmed Trump told him, "I want nothing."

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Taken in their entirety, Sondland's statements Wednesday are likely to fuel the narratives of both parties. He was seen as a wild card going into the hearing, given he has offered testimony that conflicted with others' and recently amended his statements to acknowledge he did talk to Ukraine about investigations after initially indicating otherwise.

The impeachment inquiry was sparked by a whistleblower’s complaint about Trump's July 25 call when he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for political investigations – including involving former Vice President Joe Biden's family -- at the same time U.S. military aid for the ally was stalled.

Sondland made clear Wednesday he merely presumed the aid was linked to investigations, at one point referring to this as a "guess."

But he suggested he had his reasons, agreeing that the conclusion was like "two plus two equals four." He stressed he never got a clear answer on why the aid was held up, saying in the absence of an explanation he came to believe that the aid and the investigations were linked.

“I shared concerns of the potential quid pro quo regarding the security aid with Senator Ron Johnson,” Sondland said at one point, referring to the Republican senator involved in Ukraine policy. “And I also shared my concerns with the Ukrainians.”

And from CBS News:

President Trump quoted a portion of the testimony of U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland as he departed the White House Wednesday: "I want nothing. I want nothing," Mr. Trump read to reporters outside the White House. "I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelensky — President Zelensky to do the right thing."

The quote referred to a September 9 conversation that Sondland depicted as "very short and abrupt." Mr. Trump disputed Sondland's characterization of him as having been in a bad mood — "I'm always in a good mood. I don't know what that is." He then suggested he was quoting Sondland saying, "This is the final word from the president of the United States: 'I want nothing.'" 

As the president spoke, he could be seen holding handwritten notes with his statement scrawled in bold black ink on Air Force One notepaper: "I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zellinsky (sic) to do the right thing."

Meanwhile, CNN is reporting Sondland DID say there was a quid pro quo.

You can watch that here: