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, 3 tweets, 2 min read
Two things:

1) Morrison flatly confirmed the quid pro quo. Twice. He got it directly from Sondland.

2) Sondland haggling over *who* would make statement is consistent w/ the texts showing how much details of statement mattered to Rudy/Trump.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Also, no, it doesn't matter at all that Morrison said he didn't think the call was illegal:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Finally, a huge part of this story is that Giuliani and Trump wanted a *public statement* of an investigation above all.

This would help them game MSM coverage to create the "whiff of corruption" around Biden. Bannon's explanation is instructive here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
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More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
1) So here's where this is all going:

I submit that Trump may ultimately demand that Republicans *fully* defend his pressure on Ukraine to investigate *Biden in particular,* without any squeamish double-talk about investigating "corruption."

*MINI-THREAD*
2) There are already very clear signs that Trump and his advisers are testing the waters to see if this will fly with Republicans.

First, here's Trump himself. Note how he says that *if* there was a quid pro quo, there would be "nothing wrong with that":
3) Second, here's @kellyannepolls. On Fox, she said this:

Read 6 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The GOP defense of Trump is getting more buffoonish by the day.

The latest trick: Republicans are *saying* they want to fight for Trump on the substance, while pretending the substance of the case against him doesn't actually exist.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
As the inquiry goes public, it will get harder for Republicans to defend, because the sheer scope of the corruption is unreal.

This was a months-long plot involving many actors and the corruption of multiple government agencies for deeply nefarious ends:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
I submit that Trump will ultimately demand that Republicans *fully* defend his demand for Ukraine to investigate *Biden in particular,* without any squeamish double-talk about investigating "corruption."

This is where Trump really wants to end up:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 4 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Republicans have no wiggle room left. Trump has made it absolutely clear that he is willing to press the government into service to rig the next election on his behalf -- and that he’ll keep doing just that, by any means necessary.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
In a spectacularly disingenuous interview, @SecPompeo told Fox News that Trump's conduct was "appropriate" and confined to pressing Zelensky to investigate "corruption."

So here's a list of officials who were deeply alarmed by this "appropriate" conduct:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
@SecPompeo Trump keeps saying, "Read the transcript!"

This is not evasion. It's an explicit declaration that his pressure on Ukraine is *fine.*

Trump is stating clearly that he will use the government to cheat in 2020 in any way he can. Pompeo and Barr are all in:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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Philip Bump
@pbump
Where's the quid pro quo?

Well, on July 10, EU Amb. Sondland told Ukrainians that there had to be investigations before a meeting, repeating that in another meeting right afterward. That's been confirmed by Lt. Col. Vindman and Fiona Hill. washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/… 1/7
On July 25, right before the Trump-Zelensky call, special envoy Kurt Volker texted Zelensky aide Andrey Yermak to say that a meeting would happen "assuming" there were investigations. 2/7
On Aug. 10, Yermak texted Volker to clarify that he wanted a meeting set *before* Ukraine announced new investigations. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
⏰TicToc⏰

Seniors WHO officials blocked the DOS from issuing a statement condemning RU after Moscow seized Ukrainian ships in Nov 2018.

Trump boosted a tweet that alleges Amb Bill Taylor put fabricated info about about Firtash in a diplomatic cable. archive.is/HDZUT
⏰TicToc2⏰

Firtash happens to have a long-standing beef w/ Biden.

Catherine Croft & Christopher Anderson described the unusual intrusion into U.S. foreign policy by Trump-aligned consultants, including Giuliani and Robert Livingston, a lobbyist & former GOP congressman.
⏰TicToc3⏰

Vindman told House investigators that a WH meeting AND nearly $400 million in security and military aid was “contingent” on Ukrainian officials carrying out multiple investigations, including into Burisma, the Bidens, the 2016 election and Crowd Strike.
Read 72 tweets
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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
💣QuidProQuo💣

Amb Bill Taylor testifies:

The body language of the people hearing the testimony was, ‘holy s---’ — seriously,”

The testimony as a “sea change” that “could accelerate” the impeachment inquiry.

It was “the most thorough accounting we’ve had of the timeline.”
💣QuidProQuo2💣

Taylor described the hold on aid as a “nightmare” and said it had already shaken UKR’s faith in the US.

Taylor Confirms There Was Quid Pro Quo Demand In Trump’s UKR Call:

Taylor testified Trump held up military aid to UKR until it agreed to investigate Biden.
💣QuidProQuo3💣

📌Threat of withholding military aid, & an Oval Office mtg.

📌Explicit quid pro quo: which was relayed to directly to Zelensky:

📌Both a meeting & military aid were dependent on the inv’ns (2016elex /server/Biden) & a public announcement (public box) of same.
Read 78 tweets
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Shem Horne
@Shem_Infinite
From the Bill Taylor testimony, he didn't even receive a readout of the call transcript from Trump to Zelensky 😂

We all read it, nothing bad happened in the call, and there was no quid pro quo.
source: nytimes.com/interactive/20…
Compare Bill Taylor's testimony with the whistleblower complaint, neither one of which had actually seen the transcript of the call until it was released publically. It's painfully obvious that those two were working together. Let's get them both under oath and ask them.
Read 22 tweets
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Ryan Goodman
@rgoodlaw
What #Sondland OMITS from Opening Statement shows how extra-damning this is likely to get

Omissions:

1. Major media (including two NYT blockbusters) in May reported Giuliani pressure on Ukraine for Burisma-BIDEN probe

(Sondland can't credibly claim not knowing)

<thread>
2. Sondland opening remarks omits:

Content of July 10 meeting: Sondland personally pressed Ukrainians to investigate past cases, understood by US officials at Burisma-Biden (freaked out Bolton and Fiona Hill)

(Advice: believe Fiona Hill's testimony on this)
3. Sondland omits:

July 25: Mulvaney arranged for Sondland to prep Trump behind Bolton's back before call with Zelensky.

Note: prior version of WaPo story "indicated otherwise based on info provided by a person familiar with Sondland’s planned testimony"

Did he plan to lie?
Read 9 tweets
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Jake Tapper
@jaketapper
1/ TEXT MESSAGES show a WH and administration determined to push Ukraine to investigate the 2016 election and undermine the Mueller report, and to investigate the Bidens. It becomes a key point of negotiation as Ukrainian President Zelensky seeks a WH meeting and military aid:
2/July 25, 2019, 8:36 am US Special Rep Kurt Volker for Ukraine to Zelensky aide Andrey Yermak:

"Heard from White House -- assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate/'get to the bottom of what happened' in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington."
3/ Then comes much coordination between Volker, Yermak, US Ambassador to EU Gordon Sundland, and Rudy Giuliani about a statement the Trump Team wants Zelensky to make.
Read 16 tweets

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