Breaking: “Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky...Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President.” - Sondland 1/
2/ “There was no secret regarding moving forward with the discussion of investigations..Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret...Again, everyone was in the loop.”
3/ “We had no desire to set any conditions on the Ukrainians...the White House meeting and security assistance should have proceeded without pre-conditions of any kind.”
4/ “We weren’t happy with the President’s directive to talk with Rudy. We did not want to involve Mr. Giuliani. I believed then, as I do now, that the men and women of the State Dept, not the president’s personal lawyer, should take responsibility for Ukraine matters.”
5/ “I later came to believe that the resumption of security aid would not occur until there was a public statement from Ukraine committing to the investigations of the 2016 election and Burisma, as Mr. Giuliani has demanded.” - Sondland
6/ —>>> Crucially, despite GOP claims, the Ukrainians knew it was a quid pro quo: “I also shared my concerns with the Ukrainians,” says Sondland.
