And finally, as the Committee is aware, I wrote that withholding security assistance
in exchange for help with a domestic political campaign in the United States would be crazy.
I believed that then, and I believe it now.
Ambassador Taylor, in your decades of military service and diplomatic service representing
the United States around the world, have you ever seen another example of foreign aid conditioned
on the personal or political interests of the president of the United States?
No, Mr. Goldman, I have not.
President Trump did insist that president Zelensky go to a microphone and say he is
opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference.
Last Friday, a member of my staff told me of events that occurred on July 26.
While Ambassador Volker and I visited the front, this member of my staff accompanied
Ambassador Sondland.
Ambassador Sondland met with Mr. Yermak.
Following that meeting, in the presence of my staff, at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland
called president Trump and told him of his meetings in Kiev.
The members of my staff could hear president Trump on the phone asking Ambassador Sondland
about the investigations.
Ambassador Sondland told president Trump the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.
Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland
what president Trump thought about Ukraine.
Ambassador Sondland responded that president Trump cares more about the investigations
of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.
At the time I gave my deposition on October 22, I was not aware of this information.
I’m including it here for completeness.
Before we fall into the inevitable GOP smear campaigns about how Ambassador Bill Taylor
is a never-Trump deep state Democrat getting paid off by George Soros, I should note off
the bat that he is a West Point grad, a Vietnam War veteran, and was appointed to positions
by multiple Republican presidents, including Reagan and Bush – not to mention DONALD
TRUMP.
That his credibility would ever be questioned is a joke, to say the least.
Which makes his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee all the more damning for Trump.
Ambassador Taylor begins his testimony by saying, in no uncertain terms, that withholding
aid in exchange for help with a domestic political campaign would be crazy, a sentiment that
mirrors exactly what he said in a text message to Trump donor turned Ambassador to the EU
who, for some reason… unbeknownst to anyone was dealing with Ukraine, Gordon Sondland.
And I’m just go out on a limb here and say that he’s PROBABLY right that it would be
crazy considering the president of the United States is about to get impeached for just
that.
In other words, it seems like Bill Taylor’s instincts were pretty spot on, yet ANOTHER
testament to his credibility.
Taylor goes on to admit, under oath, that Trump did insist Zelensky make an announcement
of an investigation into Joe Biden.
And that’s the whole ballgame.
That IS the quid pro quo.
That IS the extortion.
That IS Trump withholding desperately needed military aid to a country that was UNDER attack
until he got a soundbite that he could play on repeat leading up to the 2020 election.
Taylor even goes on to say that Trump was more interested in that soundbite than he
was in Ukraine in general, which is actually NEW information since Bill Taylor’s deposition.
But while it might be new, it’s not the least bit surprising.
There are only so many times that we can confirm what we already know—that this wasn’t
in the least bit about fighting corruption as it was helping tilt the next election in
Trump’s favor.
In other words, these claims by the right and by the White House that Trump was simply
championing anti-corruption efforts are complete BS—his actions are the literal definition
OF corruption.
But let’s just humor Trump for a second—let’s say that he was a fierce advocate of fighting
corruption.
Name one other instance that he’s done just that.
Or are we really supposed to believe that the champion of anti-corruption had only ever
occupied himself with one single instance of corruption, it was in EASTERN EUROPE and
just so happened to deal with his current top political opponent heading into the next
election?
What a coincidence THAT must’ve been.
Taylor then states that in his years of services, he’s NEVER seen foreign aid conditioned
on the personal interests of the president of the United States.
And maybe – just maybe – the reason for that is that it is extortion and, clearly,
impeachable.
If presidents could legally use millions upon millions of taxpayer funded dollars as leverage
for their own interests, they probably would.
But there’s a reason it’s unprecedented in American history and that’s because I’m
guessing most presidents aren’t ignorant enough of the law or desperate enough not
to care – or some combination of the two – to risk their presidency for a leg up
in the next election.
But apparently, Trump is.
And so Democrats will continue to bring witnesses forward who will corroborate, to a damning
degree, what we already know to be true: that Trump tried to extort Ukraine into doing his
political bidding by withholding military aid to a country under siege by Russia until
he got the announcement of an investigation into his top political opponent, Joe Biden.
It is unprecedented.
It runs counter to American foreign policy.
And it is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, an offense that warrants the impeachment of the
president of the United States.