Gordon Sondland updated his impeachment testimony — with a description of a quid pro quo


There's been a significant modification to the impeachment testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, The New York Times reports.
In four pages of updated testimony released Tuesday, Sondland changed his tune, this time clarifying that he did have knowledge of a possible quid pro quo between the United States and Ukraine, in which military aid to Ukraine may have been withheld until Kyiv carried out anticorruption investigations that President Trump wanted, allegedly for his political gain.
Sondland said he discussed the matter with Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "I said the resumption of the U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks," Sondland said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The ambassador did not testify that the existence of a quid pro quo was explicitly relayed to him, just that he personally understood the link between the aid and the investigations to be real at the time.
Still, it's a change from a text message exchange with the the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, in which Sondland said Trump was clear there was no quid pro quo. In the testimony, Sondland also said he thought withholding aid was "ill-advised," regardless of the reasoning. Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
5 dramatically dysfunctional cartoons about the government shutdown
Cartoons Artists take on life without government, foam finger pointing, and more
-
October 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include the Einstein files, defunding the police, and an odd tribute to Jane Goodall
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland