The Washington Post reports:
The senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine said Tuesday he was told release of military aid was contingent on public declarations from Ukraine that it would investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election, contradicting President Trump’s denial that he used the money as leverage for political gain.
Acting ambassador William B. Taylor Jr. testified behind closed doors in the House impeachment probe of Trump that he stands by his characterization that it was “crazy” to make the assistance contingent on investigations he found troubling.
Upon arriving in Kyiv last spring he became alarmed by secondary diplomatic channels involving U.S. officials that he called “weird,” Taylor said, according to a copy of his lengthy opening statement obtained by The Washington Post.
Wow — > Bill Taylor’s testimony totally contradicts Amb. Sondland’s claim that he recalls “no discussions” with anyone at the State Department or White House about Biden or his son. Taylor says Sondland heard about Biden directly from Trump:https://t.co/mkmJWgSbjz pic.twitter.com/7xXzBJAd5E
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) October 22, 2019
Got a copy of Taylor’s opening statement who said Trump wanted Zelensky to “state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election – and “everything,” including security assistance was conditioned on it, per what Sondland said
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 22, 2019
“In fact, Ambassador Sondland said ‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance” Taylor testified, referring to the probes that could help Trump politically. https://t.co/Si2gXP6neO
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 22, 2019
“He said that President Trump wanted President Zelensky ‘in a public box’ by making a public statement about ordering such investigations,” Taylor said Sondland told him.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 22, 2019
Q: The president has said that you told him that his conversation with the Ukrainian president was perfect and innocent. Do you believe that the president has handled this Ukrainian situation perfectly?”
McConnell: “We’ve not had any conversation on that subject.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 22, 2019