https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=785
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191105_-_sondland_transcript_excerpts_final.pdf
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191105_-_volker_transcript_excerpts_final.pdf
Sondland excerpts here, Volker here.
Relevant new material from these transcripts in bold
Big new revelations:
- Sondland has added four new pages of addenda to his testimony, in which he acknowledges directly delivering the extortion threat to Ukraine that military aid would likely be withheld unless and until they announced the investigations demanded by Trump.
- Zelenskiy discussed the suspension of aid directly with Mike Pence.
I now do recall a conversation on September 1, 2019, in Warsaw with [Ukrainian official] Mr. Yermak. This brief pull-aside conversation followed the larger meeting involving Vice President Pence and President Zelensky, in which President Zelensky had raised the issue of the suspension of US aid to Ukraine directly with VP Pence. After that large meeting, I now recall speaking individually with Mr. Yermak, where I said that resumption of US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.That "anti-corruption statement" was described in Kurt Volker's text messages to Sondland from August 13, and is unambiguously about Biden and the 2016 election:
[8/13/19, 10:26:44 AM] Kurt Volker: Special attention should be paid to the problem of interference in the political processes of the United States especially with the alleged involvement of some Ukrainian politicians. I want to declare that this is unacceptable. We intend to initiate and complete a transparent and unbiased investigation of all available facts and episodes, including those involving Burisma and the 2016 U.S. elections, which in turn will prevent the recurrence of this problem in the future.
[8/13/19, 10:27:20 AM] Gordon Sondland: Perfect. Lets send to Andrey after our call
- The house has also released 65 pages of new text messages between Rudy, Volker, Sondland and Ukrainian officials. These include Kurt Volker coaching Ukraine's defense minister ('Andrey' in the text above) on how to deliver the public statement on September 2nd, just days after Sondland delivered the extortion threat in person.
A brief overview of what appears to be the single most important period (late August to September 11th)
- August 30th: Sondland tells Ukraine military aid will likely be with-held until they announce investigations demanded by Trump.
- September 1st: Sondland confirms to US Ambassador to Ukraine Taylor that 'everything', including military aid is dependent on Zelenskiy announcing investigations into Biden and the Ukraine server conspiracy.
- September 9th: Taylor reconfirms the demand with Sondland. Congress learns of the Whistleblower complaint.
- September 10th: Adam Schiff writes to the ICIG to demand the Whistleblower complaint.
- September 11th: Trump releases the military aid.
- September 12th-13th: Taylor learns that Zelenskiy had agreed to make the public statement Trump demanded on CNN, but that it is now canceled.
Detailed timeline with communications
- Mid August - Volker and Sondland draft a public statement to be made by Ukraine announcing investigations into the Bidens and the 2016 elections.
[8/13/19, 10:26:44 AM] Kurt Volker: Special attention should be paid to the problem of interference in the political processes of the United States especially with the alleged involvement of some Ukrainian politicians. I want to declare that this is unacceptable. We intend to initiate and complete a transparent and unbiased investigation of all available facts and episodes, including those involving Burisma and the 2016 U.S. elections, which in turn will prevent the recurrence of this problem in the future.
[8/13/19, 10:27:20 AM] Gordon Sondland: Perfect. Lets send to Andrey after our call
- Late August: Sondland told Republican Senator Ron Johnson explicitly that Ukrainian aid was dependent upon investigations desired by Trump.
- August 30th: In revised testimony (see Page 10), Sondland now admits that he personally informed Ukraine that they were being extorted into announcing investigations:
Ambassador Sondland acknowledged telling one of President Zelensky’s advisors in Warsaw that “resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.”
- September 1: Sondland had this exchange with Ukrainian ambassador Bill Taylor, according to text messages released by Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker:
[9/1/19, 12:08:57 PM] Bill Taylor: Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?
[9/1/19, 12:42:29 PM] Gordon Sondland: Call me
- Taylor then talks to Sondland by phone, where Sondland indicates that not just aid, but 'everything' is being withheld until Zelenskiy publicly announces the investigations demanded by Trump:
Sondland, US ambassador to the European Union, 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.”
"In fact, Ambassador Sondland said ‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance,” Taylor testified.
- September 2: Ukraine has agreed to make a public statement, and Kurt Volker coaches Ukraine's defense minister on how to deliver it, as confirmed in text messages released by Volker.
- September 9: Taylor presses the point:
[9/9/19, 12:47:11 AM] Bill Taylor: As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.Sondland's testimony on the ensuing 4.5 hour gap in his texts with Taylor:
"On September 9, 2019, Acting Charge de Affairs/Ambassador William Taylor raised concerns about the possibility that Ukrainians could perceive a linkage between U.S. security assistance and the President’s 2020 reelection campaign."..."Taking the issue seriously, and given the many versions of speculation that had been circulating about the security aid, I called President Trump directly. I asked him one open-ended question: What do you want from Ukraine? And as I recaIl, he was in a very bad mood. It was a very quick conversation. He said: I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. I want Zelensky to do the right thing. And I said: What does that mean? And he said: I want him to do what he ran on. And that was the end of the conversation. I wouldn't say he hung up me, but it was almost like he hung up on me."And his next text with Taylor:
[9/9/19, 5:19:35 AM] Gordon Sondland: Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised during his campaign I suggest we stop the back and forth by text.
- However, on the phone, in fumbling around for any description that would not involve the literal words "quid pro quo", Sondland describes as crass a quid pro quo as could be imagined:
“Ambassador Sondland tried to explain to me that President Trump is a businessman. When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, he said, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.”Later that same day, the House Intelligence Committee is given notice of a Whistleblower Complaint regarding Trump's July 25th call with Zelenskiy.
- September 10th: Adam Schiff writes to the ICIG to demand the Whistleblower complaint.
- September 11th: Trump releases the military aid.
- September 12-13 - Taylor learns from Sondland that Zelenskiy plans to give a CNN interview announcing the investigations Trump demanded, and through conversations with Ukrainian counterparts learns (or has a hand in, it's not clear) that the interview will now be canceled.
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