Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Lieutenant Colonel Vindman just blew apart, again, the weak Republican defense of Donald Trump’s seemingly illegal actions, and then some.
Vindman testified that Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland raised all three elements of Biden, Burisma, and 2016 in the July 10th meeting with Ukrainians and that it was “explicit what he was calling for.”
“Here is the transcript of deposition where #Vindman says Sondland raised all three elements — Biden, Burisma, 2016 — in July 10 meeting in Ward Room with Ukrainians…'”It was explicit what he was calling for”‘,” former Special Counsel for the Department of Defense Ryan Goodman noted on Twitter, quoting Vindman.
Here is the transcript of deposition where #Vindman says Sondland raised all three elements — Biden, Burisma, 2016 — in July 10 meeting in Ward Room with Ukrainians.
"It was explicit what he was calling for"#ImpeachmentHearing pic.twitter.com/L4lLdegeyT
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) November 19, 2019
“It was explicit what he was calling for”
Vindman was the top Ukraine adviser and he directly witnessed the meetings. He also listened to the subsequent phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky.
This is one of the meetings in the basement of the White House that then-national security adviser John Bolton likened to a “drug deal.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board of directors in 2014. There is absolutely no evidence of wrong doing on the Biden’s part.
Rather, President Trump is now in hot bribery waters over his attempt to strong arm Ukraine to push a conspiracy theory against the Bidens.
Goodman, a legal expert who is a Chaired Professor at NYU Law, pulled this section for a big reason. What this means is the demands Sondland made on behalf of Trump were explicit.
This testimony corroborates other claims that undercut Sondland’s September 9th text message that Trump “has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s (sic) of any kind” is 100% false. A lie. A whopping lie.
The demands were the shakedown and bribery of a foreign country to help Donald Trump smear an opponent, using aid in a partisan way and in violation of the Constitutional House’s power of the purse. The demands were also a national security risk, to which Vindman also testified.
Video:
Vindman says he knew he had to report Trump's demands to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/nSuD7SzUUt
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 19, 2019
The Ukrainians came to a meeting with the United States, their most important international partner, hoping to solidify support but instead found their country being held hostage by a thug president.
Even though 71% of Americans already think Trump shouldn’t have done what he did with Ukraine, the actual details of his vicious undercutting of U.S. policy in order to cheat what is supposed to be a world-wide admired electoral system based on freedom are stunningly grotesque.
Republicans shouldn’t have demanded open hearings.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
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