Thread by @vmiracleCNN

THREAD 🧵 Impeachment Inquiry Week 2

1/ New revelations and a lot of people being thrown under the bus — that’s what happened on the fourth day of public hearings in the #ImpeachmentInquiry.

2/ The big witness everyone is talking about took center stage today — Ambassador Gordon #Sondland. He’s a Republican, who was appointed by President Trump to his current position. Before being named Ambassador to the EU, he donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.

3/ Recap: The big issue at hand — did President Trump order freezing military aid to Ukraine, unless they investigated the Bidens? AKA was there a quid pro quo/bribery/this-for-that deal...

4/ ...in a move no one anticipated, Sondland testified YES. “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 said. bit.ly/2KH8Q3V

5/ Sondland said Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was the one giving him orders, based on President Trump’s demands. “Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President.”

6/ Sondland also said many top White House officials were involved and/or knew about President Trump’s demands. That includes…
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
- White House’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney
- Vice President Mike Pence

7/ Republican House members argued Sondland never expressly heard from President Trump himself, that President Trump wanted aid to Ukraine frozen in exchange for an investigation. They say Sondland is making assumptions when he says there was 'quid pro quo.'

8/ Another hearing Thurs then Congress breaks for Thanksgiving. It’s rumored the Articles of Impeachment could be drafted before Christmas. Remember: even if Pres Trump is impeached by House, he must be found guilty by the Republican controlled Senate to be removed from office.

Do you think Sondland's testimony was game-changing?