Hearings paint a vivid portrait of an American president willing to leverage his powerful office to push a foreign government for personal political help.
“When we are consumed by partisan rancor, we cannot combat these external forces as they seek to divide us against each another, degrade our institutions, and destroy the faith of the American people in our democracy.”
Polling has shown that while public opinion has shifted recently toward slightly backing Trump’s impeachment, Democrats strongly support the effort while Republicans vehemently oppose it. Independents have been divided.
In a blockbuster morning of testimony, Sondland’s opening remarks included several key details: He confirmed that he spoke with Trump on a cellphone from a busy Kyiv restaurant the day after the president prodded Ukraine’s leader to investigate political rival Joe Biden. He implicated others in Trump’s actions.
Taylor further connects Trump, Giuliani and the administration to a quid-pro-quo agreement that came to light after a government whistleblower’s complaint.
“This certainly makes it pretty clear what was going on. And it was a quid pro quo.”