Gordon Sondland Confirms There Was a Ukraine Quid Pro Quo

Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland has confirmed today that there was a quid pro quo involved in the release of military aid to Ukraine, as outlined in his opening statement, which was released to the press. Sondland also implicate Rudy Giuliani, bolstering the case against President Donald Trump.

“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,” Sondland’s statement says. “We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani. Simply put, we played the hand we were dealt. We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr. Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine. So we followed the President’s orders.”

Sondland confirmed that there was a quid pro quo and that the people involved knew all about it.

“Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky,” his statement says.

“Mr. Giuliani demanded that Ukraine make a public statement announcing investigations of the 2016 election/DNC server and Burisma. Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President.”

“By the end of the August, my belief was that if Ukraine did something to demonstrate a serious intention to fight corruption, specifically addressing Burisma and 2016 server, then the hold on military aid would be lifted,” Sondland said.

His statement goes on to address the question Democrats have been asking: Was there a quid pro quo? Sondland said: “The answer is yes.”

Watch Sondland confirm the quid pro quo above, via CNN.