This is it. This is the most important day of impeachment hearings (so far). The morning has barely begun, but already it’s clear. This is going to be one of those days in American history where you look back on it and think: “Where were you on the day the bald guy from Seattle took out the wigged guy in the White House?”
Seattle hotelier Gordon Sondland is still reading his opening statement as I write this, but this opening statement is fire. Download a PDF of it right here.
It contains sentences like “I followed the directions of the president” and “Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky” and “Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret.”
Trump knew it was a quid pro quo, Pence knew it was a quid pro quo, Pompeo knew it was a quid pro quo, and obviously Giuliani knew it was a quid pro quo (because he was the one who insisted on it to Sondland, per the President’s orders), Sondland testifies. Last night on TV, pundits were suggesting that Sondland was going to take the 5th today. Hahahaha, nope.
Instead, Sondland’s decided to lay it all out there. Why? Because his parents (who “fled Europe during the Holocaust”), raised him “to be humble, hardworking, and patriotic.”
He also admits right up front that his story has not been consistent so far. “My memory has admittedly not been perfect,” he said. Where does he lay the blame for that? With the White House and the State Department! They refused to give him access to his phone records, emails, and other information, so he hasn’t been able to refresh his memory. “Having access to the State Department materials would have been very helpful to me in trying to reconstruct with whom I spoke and met, when, and what was said,” he said.
You know what the White House also wouldn’t do? Give him permission to testify. They specifically forbade him from testifying. But here he is, testifying. This is a big day. I suggest you tune in.
