The talking points were scrawled in all caps on an Air Force One notepad.
While ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland presented damning testimony before the House Intelligence committee’s impeachment inquiry hearings on Wednesday morning, President Trump responded from the South Lawn of the White House.
“In terms of testimony with Ambassador Sondland and I just noticed one thing and that means it’s all over. ‘What do you want from Ukraine?’ he asks me, screaming,” said Trump in reference to what Sondland said during today’s hearing. “‘What do you want from Ukraine? I keep hearing all these different ideas and theories.’ … to which I turned off the television.”
But what was really getting attention were the notes Trump brought with him:
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19393574/GettyImages_1188927586.jpg)
Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesThe notes — handwritten in black marker on a notepad — read, “I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NO QUID PRO QUO. TELL ZELLINSKY TO DO THE RIGHT THING. THIS IS THE FINAL WORD FROM THE PRES OF THE U.S.”
Trump went on to continue to refute Sondland’s testimony about their interaction, even going so far as to distance himself from the ambassador by claiming not to know him very well. The hotel owner donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration and raised money for his 2016 campaign as well.
But Trump may need more than a few Sharpie talking points to fight the impeachment tide against him. Sondland’s testimony clearly laid out that there was a quid pro quo and that the investigations being demanded were, in his words, “important to the president.”
Author: Hannah Brown
Read More
