Thread by @HarrisonCramer

Sondland Thread: "First, Secretary Perry, Ambassador Volker and I worked with Mr. Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters at the express direction of the President of the United States. We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani. Simply put, we were playing the hand we were dealt."

The suggestion that we were engaged in some sort of “irregular or rogue diplomacy is absolutely false,” says Sondland, who said that top officials at the State Department and National Security Council were deeply engaged in the policy.

💥 "Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Z ... Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President." Absent: security aid.

Later, Sondland says that he shared concerns of the "potential quid pro quo" regarding the security aid w/ Sen. Johnson.

Sondland leaning into the everyone-was-doing-it defense. Says he communicated w/ Pompeo, his counselor Brechbuhl and secretary Lisa Kenna, Bolton, Hill, Morrison, and their staff at the NSC. "They knew what we were doing, and why," says Sondland.

Sondland says the issue of investigations was "probably" raised during his meeting w/ Yermak on July 26th, but that he doesn't remember.

Sondland says he "primarily discussed A$AP Rocky" with President Trump during his now-famous phone call from the Ukrainian restaurant. Um.

Sondland reiterates quid-pro-quo statement on WH meeting/call: "Was there a “quid pro quo?” As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes."

Sondland trying to pull Pompeo into all of this (from his written testimony):

On military aid: "By the end of the August, my belief was that if Ukraine did something to demonstrate a serious intention to fight corruption, and specifically addressing Burisma and the 2016 [sic], then the hold on military aid would be lifted."

September 1, Sondland tells Yermak that military aid is conditional on statement: "I told Mr. Yermak that I believed that the resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine took some kind of action on the public statement that we had been discussing for many weeks."

Sondland not disputing Holmes recollection of his phone call w/ President Trump. Says Trump made his dislike of Ukraine clear even earlier, in May 23rd meeting.

Watch: Schiff getting into "official act" and "thing of value" semantics with Sondland, part of the definition of bribery under U.S. law law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…

🚨 "President Trump never told me directly that the aid was conditioned on the meetings," says Sondland. "The aid was my own personal guess, based on again, your analogy: 2+2=4."

GOP counse Castor is jumping on the lack of explicit quid-pro-quo direction to Sondland from Trump.

Sondland, like Volker, is claiming he didn't make the connection between Biden and Burisma until "very late in the game." He also denied Holmes testimony about July 26th call. Holmes said Sondland mentioned the "Biden investigation."

Sondland bolstering Democrats' obstruction article, says Pompeo, Perry, Brian McCormick (Perry's COS), Mulvaney, Robert Blair (WH aide) and other staffers that refused to testify would likely provide additional information to the inquiry. "I think they would [provide more info]."

Trump's prepped response (Mark Wilson from Getty)

Giuliani appears to have tweeted, and deleted, the following:

Backpats and hugs for Dem Counsel Daniel Goldman, visible through an anteroom door.