DECORATED WAR HEROES, INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN PUBLIC
SERVANTS WORKING IN THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, THE
STATE DEPARTMENT, A WHOLE RANGE
OF THINGS OVER THE COURSE OF
DECADES UNDER BOTH REPUBLICANS
AND DEMOCRATS.
AND DEMOCRATS. AND MR. TAYLOR WAS ONE OF THOSE.
WHAT WAS HIS BACKGROUND IF YOU
RECALL?
RECALL? >> HE WAS A VIETNAM WAR HERO AND
HAD SPENT HIS LIFE IN FIRST THE
MILITARY SERVICE AND THEN THE
CIVILIAN SERVICE OF THE COUNTRY.
AND I THINK HE WAS IF I’M
REMEMBERING CORRECTLY HE WAS
SKAPDLIZE -- SCANDALIZED ABOUT
THE TREATMENT OF PROFESSOR
YOVANOVITCH WHO WAS THE TARGET
OF THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN BY RUDY
GIULIANI.
GIULIANI. SHE WAS SOMEBODY WHO WORKED FOR
AMERICA AND FOUGHT FOR OUR
FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES IN
UKRAINE.
UKRAINE. SHE DESCRIBED HERSELF AS
COMPLETELY NONPARTISAN.
COMPLETELY NONPARTISAN. SHE HAD A FAMILY BACKGROUND OF
FLEEING PERSECUTION FROM
TOTALITARIAN REGIMES AND THEY
DECIDED TO SET HER UP AND
DESCRIBE HER AS A TOOL OF GEORGE
SOROS, SOMEBODY WHO SON THE SIDE
OF THE CORRUPT, SO ON.
UNTIL FINALLY THE PRESIDENT
DECIDED TO RECALL HER AND BRING
HER BACK.
HER BACK. THAT IS A SCANDALOUS CHAPTER IN
AMERICAN HISTORY THAT THAT WAS
ALLOWED TO HAPPEN TO ONE OF OUR
AMBASSADORS.
AMBASSADORS. AND IT WAS ALL TO CLEAR THE WAY
FOR THE SHAKEDOWN OF PRESIDENT
ZELENSKY BECAUSE AS MR. GIULIANI
SAID TODAY HE’S QUOTED IN THE
PAPER TODAY, SHE WAS IN THE WAY
OF THE PLAN TO GET FROM
PRESIDENT ZELENSKY WHAT THE
PRESIDENT WANTED.
PRESIDENT WANTED. >> LAST THING IN AMBASSADOR
TAYLOR’S TESTIMONY, YOU WERE
TALKING ABOUT CONVERSATIONS WITH
AMBASSADOR SONDLAND.
AMBASSADOR SONDLAND. AND IN THAT CONVERSATION,
AMBASSADOR TAYLOR SAID, QUOTE,
PRESIDENT TRUMP HAD TOLD HIM
SONDLAND HE WANTS PRESIDENT
ZELENSKY TO STATE PUBLICLY THAT
UKRAINE WILL INVESTIGATE BURISMA
AND ALLEGED INTERFERENCE IN THE
ELECTION.
ELECTION. IN FACT, SONDLAND SAID
EVERYTHING WAS DEPENDENT ON SUCH
AN ANNOUNCEMENT AND HE SAID THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP WANTED PRESIDENT
ZELENSKY IN A BOX MAKING PUBLIC
STATEMENTS ABOUT ORDERING SUCH
AN INVESTIGATION.
AN INVESTIGATION. EARLIER YOU REFERRED TO
PUTTING --
PUTTING -- >> AND, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD TO
PICK ONE QUOTE FOR PEOPLE TO
REMEMBER FROM AMBASSADOR TAYLOR
IT’S WHEN HE SAID WHEN HE SAID,
THE PHONE, I THINK IT IS CRAZY
TO WITHHOLD SECURITY ASSISTANCE
FOR HELP WITH A POLITICAL
CAMPAIGN, AND THAT WAS IN A TEXT
MESSAGE THAT HE WAS ENGAGED IN.
I BELIEVE IT WAS WITH
SONDLAND/VOLKER.
SONDLAND/VOLKER. I THINK IT IS CRAZY TO WITHHOLD
SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR HELP
WITH A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.
THAT WAS ON SEPTEMBER 19th.
>>> THE LAST QUESTION I WOULD
LIKE TO ASK YOU IS CONCERNING
RUDY GIULIANI AS YOU JUST
MENTIONED.
MENTIONED. IN THAT TAYLOR DEPOSITION THERE
IS A REFERENCE TO A "NEW YORK
TIMES" REPORT CONCERNING MR.
GIULIANI’S ROLE, AND IT IS A
REPORT FROM MAY 9th, 2019, WHICH
SAYS, QUOTE -- OR AN ARTICLE.
MR. GIULIANI SAID HE PLANS TO
TRAVEL TO KYIV, UKRAINIAN
CAPITAL, IN THE COMING DAYS TO
MEET WITH THE NATION’S
PRESIDENT-ELECT TO URGE HIM TO
PURSUE INQUIRIES THAT ALLIES OF
THE WHITE HOUSE CONTEND COULD
YIELD NEW INFORMATION ABOUT TWO
MATTERS OF INTENSE INTEREST TO
MR. TRUMP.
MR. TRUMP. ONE IS THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIAL
COUNSEL’S INVESTIGATION INTO
RUSSIA’S INTERFERENCE IN THE
2016 ELECTION.
2016 ELECTION. THE OTHER IS THE INVOLVEMENT OF
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE
BIDEN JR.’S SON IN A GAS COMPANY
OWNED BY A UKRAINIAN OLIGARCH.
THIS IS IN MAY OF 2019.
THE AMBASSADORS WERE TOLD THEY
SHOULD WORK WITH MR. GIULIANI,
AND THEIR TESTIMONY, AGAIN FROM
THE SONDLAND DEPOSITION, IS THEY
WERE DISAPPOINTED BY THE
PRESIDENT’S DIRECTION THAT WE
INVOLVE MR. GIULIANI.
OUR VIEW IS THAT MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT, NOT THE
PRESIDENT’S PERSONAL LAWYER,
SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ALL ASPECTS OF U.S. FOREIGN
POLICY TOWARDS UKRAINE.
DO YOU RECALL THAT TESTIMONY?
>> YES.
>> YES. >> WELL, MR. SONDLAND AND I
DON’T KNOW WHO CAME UP WITH THE
NAME "THREE AMIGOS," APPARENTLY
REFERRING TO AMBASSADOR
SONDLAND, AMBASSADOR VOLKER AND
AMBASSADOR PERRY, THEY HAD A
COUPLE OF CHOICES.
THEY COULD WORK WITH MR.
GIULIANI OR NOT, AND IN HIS
TESTIMONY MR. SONDLAND SAYS, IN
WORKING WITH MR. GIULIANI THAT,
QUOTE, ALL COMMUNICATIONS FLOW
THROUGH RUDY GIULIANI.
HE DETERMINED IN HIS TESTIMONY,
HE SAID THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A
MISTAKE, BUT I DID NOT
UNDERSTAND UNTIL MUCH LATER THAT
MR. GIULIANI’S AGENDA MIGHT HAVE
BEEN INCLUDED AN EFFORT TO
PROMPT UKRAINIAN’S TO
INVESTIGATE VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN
OR HIS SON OR TO INVOLVE
UKRAINIANS DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY IN THE PRESIDENT’S
2020 REELECTION CAMPAIGN.
DO YOU RECALL THAT TESTIMONY?
>> WHOSE STATEMENT WAS THAT?
>> FROM THE SONDLAND DEPOSITION
AT PAGE 297.
>> YES, I RECALL READING THAT.
YES.
YES. >> WELL, THE ARTICLES THAT THE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HAS BROUGHT
TALK ABOUT AN ABUSE OF POWER,
TALK ABOUT BETRAYAL OF NATIONAL
SECURITY, TALK ABOUT CORRUPTION.
ARE THESE THE KINDS OF PIECES OF
EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORT THE
ARTICLES THAT YOUR COMMITTEE
DRAFTED THAT YOU WOULD LIKE THE
WHOLE HOUSE TO VOTE ON TOMORROW?
>> YES.
>> YES. IT WAS A VOTE OF 23-17 IN