October 22, 2019
THE TIGHTENING NOOSE:
US' top diplomat Taylor was told Trump wanted aid withheld until Ukraine said it would investigate Biden (Manu Raju, Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox, Kylie Atwood and Gloria Borger, October 22, 2019, CNN)
The Top US diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor testified Tuesday that he had been told President Donald Trump would withhold military aid to the country until it publicly declared investigations would be launched that could help his reelection chances -- including into former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a copy of Taylor's opening statement obtained by CNN."During that phone call, Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelensky to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US election," according to the testimony.Sondland told Taylor he'd also made a mistake earlier by telling the Ukrainian officials that a White House meeting with Zelensky "was dependent on a public announcement of the investigations," Taylor said."In fact, Ambassador Sondland said, 'everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance," Taylor testified.He testified that Trump wanted Zelensky "in a public box" by making a public statement about ordering the investigations.
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 22, 2019 4:41 PM