Sonderland testimony starting soon. Popcorn ready.

Kentonio said:

2 Hours until Sonderland returns to testify in congress. Since his first appearance he's had to change his testimony once, and since then has been contradicted by a number of other witnesses.

The question is going to be whether he decides to come totally clean, or risks serious legal jeopardy. My guess is he'll put his own future ahead of any political consideration. He's already walking an exceedingly narrow line, and he doesn't have much room left before ending up in major trouble.

The White House is reportedly very worried about what he'll say.

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This week, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, found himself giving testimony to the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. He explained in considerable detail how he had come to play an intimate role in the Trump administration’s efforts to leverage U.S. relations with Ukraine to the private advantage of President Trump. Sondland played a central role in executing this corrupt quid pro quo, a strange assignment for anyone — but made all the stranger by the fact that, until a little more than a year ago, Sondland, the founder and chairman of Provenance Hotels, had zero experience as a diplomat.

Ukraine is not a member of the E.U., so there was no jurisdictional reason for Sondland to be involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine. (In my five years in government during the Obama administration, I participated in many meetings and deliberations concerning Ukraine; I do not recall the U.S. ambassador to the E.U. ever being involved.)

Nor, to judge by the available sources, does Ambassador Sondland have any expertise in Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, deterrence theory, European security or diplomacy. Yet there is one very clear reason why Sondland became a member of the Trump foreign policy team: He contributed $1 million to a Trump inauguration party. That’s it. No other reason. Another quid pro quo of the simplest kind: private resources for a public office.

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Stanfordella said:

Sondland's appointment to the Trump administration despite having no diplomatic experience is itself a quid pro quo, an exchange of private resources for a public office. Before being appointed, Sondland donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration party.

One of my professors is the former U.S. ambassador to Russia and wrote this about Sondland yesterday:

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Aryeh Jay said:

I’ll bet he is regretting that political donation bigly!

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essentialsaltes said:

'We worked with Giuliani at the express direction of the President of the United States. We didn't want to work with Giuliani.'

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camille70 said:

This is just opening statement.

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essentialsaltes said:

'We worked with Giuliani at the express direction of the President of the United States. We didn't want to work with Giuliani.'

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KCfromNC said:

That's just impossible. Why, Donald Trump barely even met Donald Trump, much less expressly directed him to do anything...

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Kentonio said:

Pence just released a statement saying he never met with Sondland in Warsaw and that Sondlands sworn testimony is false.

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Kentonio said:

Ken Starr on FOX: “There is now proof that the President (Trump) committed the crime of bribery...This has been one of those bombshell days.”

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