SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor testified Wednesday during the first public House hearing on impeachment that a member of his staff overheard a phone call in which President Donald Trump personally demanded information about "the investigations" he pressured Ukraine's leader to launch.
Trump's conversation with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, according to Taylor, took place on July 26, the day after Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a probe into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president."
--Paul Waldman, Washington Post
The Ukraine ambassador's account of the phone call between Sondland and Trump, which was not previously known to the public, was described as a "bombshell" that ties Trump directly to the efforts to investigate Biden.
"In the presence of my staff at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in Kyiv," Taylor said during his opening remarks (pdf). "The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about 'the investigations.' Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward."
Taylor said his staffer asked Sondland after the call "what President Trump thought about Ukraine."
"Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which [Trump's personal attorney Rudy] Giuliani was pressing for," Taylor said.
Watch:
\u201cHere\u2019s Taylor describing the new restaurant phone call between Trump and Sondland, with Sondland saying Trump specifically cares about the investigation of Biden:\u201d— Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff (@Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff) 1573084777
"Ambassador Taylor's testimony leaves no doubt that President Trump was using official acts to pressure Ukraine for interference on our elections," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in response to Taylor's account of the July 26 phone call.
In an op-ed Wednesday, the Washington Post's Paul Waldman wrote that Taylor's testimony paints Trump "not as a disconnected figure, not as someone unaware of what is being done on his behalf, but as someone so intimately involved that he's taking phone calls from Sondland to discuss the nuts and bolts of the whole plot."
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president," noted Waldman. "It's what puts Watergate, Iran-contra and the Lewinsky scandal in one category, and every other mini-scandal in another."
Impeachment HQ, a joint project of progressive groups Stand Up America and Defend the Republic, said in an email to supporters that Taylor's "testimony is absolutely devastating for Donald Trump and the Republicans attempting to defend him."
\u201cAmb. Taylor just confirmed it. \n\nWe know Trump used military aid to bribe Ukraine to interfere in 2020.\n\nWe know anyone else who did that would be in jail.\n\nWhat we don\u2019t know is if there\u2019s a single Republican in Congress who will uphold their oath to defend our Constitution.\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1573662693
At least one Republican operative was reportedly alarmed by the first day of public impeachment hearings, during which House Republicans and GOP counsel Steve Castor peddled right-wing conspiracy theories in defense of Trump.
"Not from me: but this is a massive fucking shitshow," an unnamed GOP operative toldBloomberg reporter Sahil Kapur. "No one wants to be here."
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor testified Wednesday during the first public House hearing on impeachment that a member of his staff overheard a phone call in which President Donald Trump personally demanded information about "the investigations" he pressured Ukraine's leader to launch.
Trump's conversation with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, according to Taylor, took place on July 26, the day after Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a probe into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president."
--Paul Waldman, Washington Post
The Ukraine ambassador's account of the phone call between Sondland and Trump, which was not previously known to the public, was described as a "bombshell" that ties Trump directly to the efforts to investigate Biden.
"In the presence of my staff at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in Kyiv," Taylor said during his opening remarks (pdf). "The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about 'the investigations.' Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward."
Taylor said his staffer asked Sondland after the call "what President Trump thought about Ukraine."
"Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which [Trump's personal attorney Rudy] Giuliani was pressing for," Taylor said.
Watch:
\u201cHere\u2019s Taylor describing the new restaurant phone call between Trump and Sondland, with Sondland saying Trump specifically cares about the investigation of Biden:\u201d— Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff (@Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff) 1573084777
"Ambassador Taylor's testimony leaves no doubt that President Trump was using official acts to pressure Ukraine for interference on our elections," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in response to Taylor's account of the July 26 phone call.
In an op-ed Wednesday, the Washington Post's Paul Waldman wrote that Taylor's testimony paints Trump "not as a disconnected figure, not as someone unaware of what is being done on his behalf, but as someone so intimately involved that he's taking phone calls from Sondland to discuss the nuts and bolts of the whole plot."
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president," noted Waldman. "It's what puts Watergate, Iran-contra and the Lewinsky scandal in one category, and every other mini-scandal in another."
Impeachment HQ, a joint project of progressive groups Stand Up America and Defend the Republic, said in an email to supporters that Taylor's "testimony is absolutely devastating for Donald Trump and the Republicans attempting to defend him."
\u201cAmb. Taylor just confirmed it. \n\nWe know Trump used military aid to bribe Ukraine to interfere in 2020.\n\nWe know anyone else who did that would be in jail.\n\nWhat we don\u2019t know is if there\u2019s a single Republican in Congress who will uphold their oath to defend our Constitution.\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1573662693
At least one Republican operative was reportedly alarmed by the first day of public impeachment hearings, during which House Republicans and GOP counsel Steve Castor peddled right-wing conspiracy theories in defense of Trump.
"Not from me: but this is a massive fucking shitshow," an unnamed GOP operative toldBloomberg reporter Sahil Kapur. "No one wants to be here."
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor testified Wednesday during the first public House hearing on impeachment that a member of his staff overheard a phone call in which President Donald Trump personally demanded information about "the investigations" he pressured Ukraine's leader to launch.
Trump's conversation with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, according to Taylor, took place on July 26, the day after Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a probe into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president."
--Paul Waldman, Washington Post
The Ukraine ambassador's account of the phone call between Sondland and Trump, which was not previously known to the public, was described as a "bombshell" that ties Trump directly to the efforts to investigate Biden.
"In the presence of my staff at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in Kyiv," Taylor said during his opening remarks (pdf). "The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about 'the investigations.' Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward."
Taylor said his staffer asked Sondland after the call "what President Trump thought about Ukraine."
"Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which [Trump's personal attorney Rudy] Giuliani was pressing for," Taylor said.
Watch:
\u201cHere\u2019s Taylor describing the new restaurant phone call between Trump and Sondland, with Sondland saying Trump specifically cares about the investigation of Biden:\u201d— Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff (@Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff) 1573084777
"Ambassador Taylor's testimony leaves no doubt that President Trump was using official acts to pressure Ukraine for interference on our elections," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in response to Taylor's account of the July 26 phone call.
In an op-ed Wednesday, the Washington Post's Paul Waldman wrote that Taylor's testimony paints Trump "not as a disconnected figure, not as someone unaware of what is being done on his behalf, but as someone so intimately involved that he's taking phone calls from Sondland to discuss the nuts and bolts of the whole plot."
"The big picture here is that what separates big, historic scandals from minor ones is the personal involvement of the president," noted Waldman. "It's what puts Watergate, Iran-contra and the Lewinsky scandal in one category, and every other mini-scandal in another."
Impeachment HQ, a joint project of progressive groups Stand Up America and Defend the Republic, said in an email to supporters that Taylor's "testimony is absolutely devastating for Donald Trump and the Republicans attempting to defend him."
\u201cAmb. Taylor just confirmed it. \n\nWe know Trump used military aid to bribe Ukraine to interfere in 2020.\n\nWe know anyone else who did that would be in jail.\n\nWhat we don\u2019t know is if there\u2019s a single Republican in Congress who will uphold their oath to defend our Constitution.\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1573662693
At least one Republican operative was reportedly alarmed by the first day of public impeachment hearings, during which House Republicans and GOP counsel Steve Castor peddled right-wing conspiracy theories in defense of Trump.
"Not from me: but this is a massive fucking shitshow," an unnamed GOP operative toldBloomberg reporter Sahil Kapur. "No one wants to be here."