Gordon Sondland Just Up and Said It Was Quid Pro Quo and the President Demanded It

Photo credit: Drew Angerer - Getty Images
Photo credit: Drew Angerer - Getty Images

From Esquire

Remember when they famously staked out the position that there was "no quid pro quo"? The president said it almost immediately when the Ukraine scandal exploded into life. His Republican allies eagerly ate up and regurgitated the line. Now, a stream of witnesses have come forward to say, yes, there was a quid pro quo. That includes Tim Morrison, a Trump appointee whom Republicans called as a witness yesterday, and who laid out the scheme in 20 seconds. House Republicans have naturally now declared that it doesn't matter if there was a quid pro quo, they'll never hold the president accountable for what he did. We have reached the inevitable endpoint: If the president does it, it's not illegal.

Never mind that what we're really talking about here is extortion. The president first held up a White House meeting the President of Ukraine desperately wanted, then held up $400 million in military aid Ukraine desperately needed to resist Russian aggression, until the Ukrainians agreed to announce investigations into 2016 and a company tied to the Bidens. (Trump wanted an announcement so it would get picked up by cable news and become The Emails of the 2020 campaign.) This is an open-and-shut abuse of power—and an office of the public trust—for personal political gain, not to mention a ploy to force a foreign government to interfere in an American presidential election. Yet Republicans are echoing, as historian Kevin Kruse pointed out, an infamous Nixon defender in 1974: "Don't confuse me with the facts: I've got a closed mind," said Rep. Earl Landgrebe. "I will not vote for impeachment."

It's still worth looking at even more evidence emerging Wednesday, however. Ambassador Gordon Sondland, a hotelier who gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee and was rewarded with the ambassadorship to the European Union, just rolled up to the Capitol. (Expect him to be a Deep State Never Trumper in the Fox News canon by noon.) Ol' Gordon got himself neck-deep in the Ukraine extortion caper, and according to the text of his opening statement, he intends to tell Congress that he did what he did at the express direction of the president. He also seems determined to make sure the Artist Formerly Known as America's Mayor gets the recognition he deserves.

"Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit" for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sondland said. "Mr. Giuliani conveyed to Secretary Perry, Ambassador Volker, and others that President Trump wanted a public statement from President Zelensky committing to investigations of Burisma and the 2016 election. Mr. Giuliani expressed those requests directly to the Ukrainians." Again, they prioritized the announcement because this was about creating a campaign issue—not rooting out corruption in Ukraine. "Mr. Giuliani also expressed those requests directly to us. We all understood that these pre-requisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements."

Photo credit: Win McNamee - Getty Images
Photo credit: Win McNamee - Getty Images

There was a quid pro quo. Its implementation was directed by the president. He subjugated the national interest, which he pledged to promote, and the Constitution, which he swore to serve and protect in his oath of office, to his personal political interests. The question is whether we, as a nation, decide to care. House Republicans have declared they do not: The Leader is The Nation, and nothing else is relevant. He is the voice and the symbol of the volk who are the only true Americans. His interests are the national interest, even if the result only benefits him. What he does is acceptable because he did it. What his opponents do is unacceptable because they do not represent Real Americans.

The question is whether this calculus translates to Republican senators in purple-state re-election fights, or who are retiring and want to salvage some sliver of their legacies. Cory Gardner and Susan Collins are in that first camp, though history tells us not to wait on Collins. Folks like Lamar Alexander and Mike Enzi are in the latter group, though the pathetic tale of Jeff Sessions tells us they can't be counted on to do the right thing either—even for the sake of their own place in history. The real test, it seems, is whether anything still matters at all.

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