Three key witnesses testify in impeachment inquiry

Three more key witnesses testified in the House impeachment inquiry today. The hearings are over and so is our live coverage.

The most dramatic testimony came from US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who connected President Trump directly to the “quid pro quo.” Later, Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs, testified.

Here are some of the key moments:

Nunes closed out his final remarks of the day with a swipe at Chairman Schiff.

“For those of you at home, it’s time to change the channel, turn down the volume or hide the kids, put them to bed,” Nunes said.

He continued: “And now, I yield to Mr. Schiff for story-time hour.”

With a hint of sarcasm in his voice, Schiff got some laughs from the hearing room when he replied, “I thank the gentleman as always for his remarks.”

During the impeachment inquiry hearings, Republicans have, at several points, argued that President Barack Obama sent only blankets to Ukraine. Meanwhile, they point out that President Trump sent lethal military aid, including anti-tank missiles.

Pushing back on this notion, Rep. Eric Swalwell claimed that the Obama administration “provided to the Ukrainians…armored Humvees, tactical drones, night vision devices, armored vests and medical equipment.”

Facts First: While the Obama administration was criticized for its refusal to provide lethal assistance to Ukraine, it did provide more than $100 million in security assistance, as well as a significant amount of defense and military equipment.

By March 2015, the US committed more than $120 million in security assistance for Ukraine and had pledged an additional $75 million worth of equipment including UAVs, counter-mortar radars, Humvees, night vision devices and medical supplies, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

But Obama did not provide lethal aid to Ukraine, and Trump did. The Trump administration approved sniper rifles, rocket launchers and Javelin anti-tank missiles, something long sought by Kiev.

Obama’s aid to Ukraine has long been criticized by Republicans.

“The Ukrainians are being slaughtered and we’re sending blankets and meals,” Republican Sen. John McCain said in 2015. “Blankets don’t do well against Russian tanks.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff asked Laura Cooper about staff inquiries received on July 25. This is the key change where she said that the Ukrainians asked about the military aid in July because they were concerned there was “some kind of issue.”

Remember: Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, said she couldn’t say for certain whether the Ukrainian check-ins were because they were aware a hold was in place, but says that was the impression her staff got from the contacts.

Asked if it could have just been a regular check-in about the assistance package, Cooper responded: “It’s my experience with the Ukrainians they would call about specific things, not just generally checking in on the assistance package.”

Here’s the full back-and-forth with Schiff:

David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, said that what happened to ousted Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch — who was fired by Trump after what she characterized as a “smear campaign” — was wrong.

Rep. Denny Heck asked Hale if he agreed that Yovanovitch served with dignity and grace in the face of “the smear campaign.” Hale replied, “Yes, she did.”

When Heck asked if Hale agreed Yovanovitch is a “dedicated and courageous patriot,” Hale responded, “I endorse what you say exactly.” 

On Yovanovitch’s ouster, Hale said, “I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continued to do the outstanding work.”

More context: Earlier this week, Yovanovitch testified about the “smear campaign” against her. She claimed that Rudy Giuliani and other made false allegations against her. During the hearing, Trump attacked Yovanovitch on Twitter causing some Democrats to accuse the President of witness intimidation.

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland boarded his flight back to Brussels after his impeachment inquiry testimony — and accidentally put his carry-on bag into the wrong overhead bin.

Karen-Marie Hyland was on the flight with him. She tells CNN his response to the luggage mix-up was, “My whole day has been like this.”

She snapped this picture of the ambassador on the plane:

Top Pentagon official Laura Cooper testified that Ukrainian officials knew as early as July 25 that there was an issue with US aid to the country.

This undercuts a key Republican rebuttal to accusations of a “quid pro quo” linking the aid to investigations into President Trump’s political rivals.

In their defense of Trump, Republicans have alleged that no bribery could exist if the Ukrainians weren’t aware the aid was being held.

But Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, testified as part of the House impeachment inquiry that some members of her staff recalled receiving emails from the Ukrainian embassy on July 25 – the same day as Trump’s much-scrutinized phone call with the Ukrainian president.

“What was going on with Ukrainian security assistance?” one Ukrainian contact emailed a member of her staff, Cooper said.

Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, describes three interactions by her staff on July 25 that indicate the Ukrainian government was aware there was an issue with US aid to the country.

Why this matters: This dramatically shifts the timeline of when the Ukrainian government was aware of the issues surrounding the aid.

And that, in turn, dramatically undercuts a key Republican talking point: that there could not be a “quid pro quo” if the Ukrainian government wasn’t aware the aid was being held up.

Undersecretary of state David Hale said he wouldn’t characterize a hold on foreign aid as “normal” but said it does happen.

Asked by Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe — who pointed out that other countries such as Pakistan and Lebanon have recently had their aid held up — asked Hale if it was normal to have delays on foreign aid.

“It is certainly an occurrence. It does occur,” Hale said.

House Intel Republicans are keeping the House printing shop busy with quick work to replace the poster quote in the hearing room for this evening’s session.

Now, they’re displaying an exchange between Gordon Sondland and President Trump.

The sign reads:

That’s the same quote that Trump read to reporters earlier today, from Sondland’s Sept. 9 call. Republicans have used displayed quotes for each day’s hearings.

Laura Cooper, a top Pentagon official, just testified that Ukrainian officials knew as early as July 25 that there was an issue with US aid to the country

Why this matters: This undercuts a key Republican rebuttal to accusations of a “quid pro quo” linking the aid to investigations into President Trump’s political rivals. In their defense of Trump, Republicans have alleged that no bribery could exist if the Ukrainians weren’t aware the aid was being held.

Today, Cooper said some members of her staff recalled receiving emails from the Ukrainian embassy on July 25 — the same day as Trump’s much-scrutinized phone call with the Ukrainian president.

In his opening statement, ranking member Devin Nunes claimed that Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community’s Inspector General (ICIG), “changed the guidance on the complaint forms to eliminate the requirement for firsthand information” in order to accept the Whistleblower’s original complaint.

Facts First: This is false. The submission form that whistleblowers from the intelligence community filled out was revised in August 2019, the revision did not change the rules on who can submit a whistleblower complaint.

The whistleblower submission form that appears on the national intelligence director website has a revision date of August 2019. The new version has a field for the filer to check one of two boxes stating they either have direct knowledge of the event or “heard about it from others.”

A previous version of the form that whistleblowers submit to alert the ICIG of an “urgent concern” states that in order for the inspector general to determine that the concern is credible “the ICIG must be in possession of reliable, first-hand information.”

This does not mean that the inspector general would reject a complaint if it presented only secondhand knowledge, but that firsthand information would be needed for the complaint to be found credible and passed further up the chain of command. The inspector general has 14 days from when the complaint is submitted to investigate and determine whether the urgent concern is credible. And that’s exactly what happened in the case of this whistleblower.

In a Sept. 30 statement clarifying the confusion spread by Republicans and right-wing websites, Atkinson wrote that the form submitted by the whistleblower on Aug. 12, 2019, was the same one the ICIG has had in place since May 24, 2018. The statement reiterated the fact that having firsthand knowledge of the event has never been required in order to submit a whistleblower complaint.”

You can read CNN’s full fact check on this conspiracy theory here.

Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, just testified about two July 25 emails she previously did not know about.

She said that after a transcript of her closed-door deposition was released, her staff brought the two emails to her attention. Both came on the same day as the Trump-Ukraine call.

Pentagon official Laura Cooper said in her opening statement that she was at the Pentagon when the building was hit by a plane during the attacks on September 11, 2001.

Cooper said her office was scheduled to move into the section of the Pentagon that was destroyed in the attack, but a construction delay meant they “were still at our old desks in the adjacent section on that devastating day.”

An official working on the impeachment inquiry confirmed both under secretary David Hale and Pentagon official Laura Cooper are testifying under subpoena tonight. 

Hale also said that in his brief comments at the beginning of the hearing. 

Pentagon official Laura Cooper is now giving her opening statement.

She began, “I bring to my daily work and this proceedings my sense of duty to US National security, not to any political party.”

After being sworn in, David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs, was given a chance to give an opening statement.

“Mr. Chairman, I don’t have a prepared opening statement,” he said.

He briefly mentioned his service, adding he’s worked under both “Republican and Democratic administrations proudly.” Hale added that he was prepared to answer any questions.

The two witnesses, Pentagon official Laura Cooper and David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, have been sworn in. They are now delivering their opening statements.

Today’s second impeachment inquiry hearing just started.

Longtime Pentagon official Laura Cooper and David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, will testify. This hearing is expected to be a technical exploration of how the aid was held up and how US policy in Ukraine was hijacked by the President’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

This hearing was initially scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET, but was delayed after the day’s first hearing — with US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland — ran long.

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, said in a phone interview just now with Glenn Beck on BlazeTV that he never discussed Ukrainian military aid with diplomats Kurt Volker and Bill Taylor or EU ambassador Gordon Sondland.

Here’s what Giuliani said:

What Sondland said today: Sondland testified earlier today there was a quid pro quo for Ukraine to announce investigations into President Donald Trump’s political opponents that came from the President’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the “express direction of the President.”

“I want nothing” seems to be Trump’s new mantra.

He said it repeatedly in a gaggle with reporters today. He tweeted the phrase as well, and re-tweeted Republican lawmakers who used the quote. And Republicans on the House Intel Committee are displaying a large sign with the quote ahead of the evening hearing with State Department official David Hale and Pentagon official Laura Cooper. 

Here’s what it means: The phrase comes from Trump’s Sept. 9 phone call with Gordon Sondland, when Sondland asked him what he wanted from Ukraine in exchange for lifting the freeze on US military assistance.

“It was a very short, abrupt conversation,” Sondland said. “He was not in a good mood. And he just said I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelensky to do the right thing.”

Despite the rhetoric, Trump’s “I want nothing” mantra doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Sondland himself testified that there were conditions on official actions, like a White House invitation for Ukraine’s new leader Volodymyr Zelensky. The conditions were that Zelensky publicly announce investigations into the Bidens and into conspiracies about the 2016 election.

Other witnesses — like former White House aide Alexander Vindman and US diplomat Bill Taylor — testified that they understood that those public announcements needed to happen before the White House would release the military aid.

Also, the “I want nothing” defense falls flat when compared with comments last month from White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaeny, who brazenly admitted that the military aid was withheld until Ukraine helped with the investigation into 2016.

It could be a strong talking point – it’s a simple phrase that Trump can inject into the conversation. But it’s not accurate.

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland changed the course of the House impeachment inquiry Wednesday, over the span of several hours in front of the House Intelligence Committee with the television cameras rolling for a global audience.

Here are five takeaways from Sondland’s testimony:

President Trump just called the intelligence community whistleblower “fake” and a “political operative.”

Trump added: “Frankly, the IG [Inspector General] should’ve never brought this, because if you would have compared what the whistleblower said, if you would’ve compared it, to what I said in the conversation, two conversations, really, to what I said in the conversation with the President … of Ukraine, he would have said, ‘Well, wait a minute the whistleblower and that wasn’t the conversation.”

Remember: CNN has previously reported that key allegations made by the intelligence community whistleblower have proven to be true.  

Trump made the comments at the end of a tour of an Apple manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas. He is headed back to Washington shortly. 

President Trump called Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony to Congress “fantastic,” but still continued to put distance between himself and his ambassador to the EU.

The comments came as the President toured an Apple manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, shortly after Sondland’s testimony concluded this afternoon.

He then again started reading from handwritten notes of Sondland’s testimony.

“Why didn’t he put this statement into his opening remarks?,” Trump asked. “It’s the most important statement there (is).”

The President went on to call Sondland, who donated to Trump’s inaugural committee, a “guy that got put there.”

“I don’t know him very well, he’s a guy that got put there,” Trump said. “He came over to me after I defeated other people, I defeated them all.” 

Trump attacked the inquiry as a “hoax,” a “disgrace” and an “embarrassment to our country.”

After explosive morning testimony directly linking President Trump to an alleged “quid pro quo” in Ukraine, two government officials will tell lawmakers what they knew about the “quo” — US security assistance — as well as the circumstances surrounding its holdup.

Today’s second public hearing will pair longtime Pentagon official Laura Cooper with David Hale, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, for what’s expected to be a technical exploration of how the aid was held up and how US policy in Ukraine was hijacked by the President’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

What Cooper has said so far: In her closed deposition last month — which was delayed for several hours as some House Republicans attempted to storm the secure hearing room — Cooper told the impeachment committees she had learned over the summer that US assistance to Ukraine was being held up for reasons that weren’t entirely clear.

In her role as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, Cooper helped orchestrate US strategy for bolstering Ukraine’s military, a bulwark against Russia. She played a coordinating role in managing the financial and military assistance Congress approved – and participated in meetings when the aid was held.

What Hale has said so far: Hale will offer more details about the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch, the onetime US ambassador to Ukraine. The number-three official at the State Department, he testified privately earlier this month that he had advocated for Yovanovitch as Giuliani was orchestrating a smear campaign against her. But ultimately he did not push for a public statement of support.

There will be no extended question round for House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff or ranking member Devin Nunes – or their lawyers — for this evening’s impeachment inquiry hearing.

After Schiff, Nunes and the witnesses make their opening statements, it will go straight to member questions, according to an official working on the impeachment inquiry. Each of the 22 members will have five minutes to ask questions.

This hearing was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET, but was delayed. It’s not clear exactly when it will start.

Who’s testifying: Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs. There could be a renewed focus on military aid as Cooper testifies.  

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland told reporters that he is “absolutely not” going to resign and is “going back to work” following today’s testimony.

Sondland made the comments as he arrived at Dulles airport for his return flight to Brussels. The ambassador said he “told the truth” today and was going to “just relax” on his flight.

What this is all about: Sondland testified today there was a quid pro quo for Ukraine to announce investigations into President Trump’s political opponents that came from the President’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the “express direction of the President.”

What’s more, Sondland provided House impeachment investigators with emails and texts showing it wasn’t just him and Giuliani pushing for the investigations outside government channels — Trump’s inner circle knew what was going on, too. He even said he raised concerns with Vice President Mike Pence that the freezing of $400 million in security aid to Ukraine was linked to the investigations.

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland just checked in at Dulles International Airport for his flight back to Brussels. 

Earlier today, during his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Sondland’s lawyer asked for shorter breaks to ensure that the ambassador would make his flight this evening.

Laura Cooper has arrived on Capitol Hill to testify publicly in the Trump impeachment inquiry. She arrived in a black SUV and walked in the Longworth House Office building without talking to media.

What you need to know about Cooper: She’s the top Pentagon official who oversaw Russia and Eastern Europe. In closed testimony she said diplomat Kurt Volker told her he had talked to an aide to Ukrainian President Zelensky about making a statement, “disavowing election interference.” 

She said Volker told her “the path that he was pursuing to lift the hold” was to “get them to make this statement.”

A source close the president’s legal team says the view is that EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony today was a “draw” but that the cake is baked and that his testimony isn’t moving the needle for the general public.

The source says there was concern in the White House during Sondland’s opening statement that his testimony would be very damaging given Sondland’s claim what he did regarding Ukraine was at the “express direction” of the President, but those concerns eased during the cross examination when Sondland said Trump told him on the phone he wanted “nothing” from Ukraine and that there was no quid pro quo.

The White House is questioning — as GOP lawyer Steve Castor did to Sondland — why that fact wasn’t in Sondland’s opening statement.

Sondland said during the testimony there was a lot he wanted to include in his opening statement but that there wasn’t enough time because his opening was already 45 minutes long. 

Sondland made clear the quid pro quo directions were coming from the President’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who the President told Sondland and other administration officials to work with regarding Ukraine.

A key question for POTUS is whether he supported what Giuliani was doing in regards to Ukraine and his directions to Sondland and others. Previously, Giuliani has said he was acting on behalf of his client the President in regards to Ukraine. 

Asked if the three committees at the heart of the investigative phase of Democrat’s impeachment inquiry should gather testimony from people like acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — even if it means delaying the impeachment process — House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel said that the committee chairs will have to “put our heads together and figure out what would be most appropriate, because obviously, the things that he exposed today or testified to today is, is nothing short of shocking, and I think we need to follow up on it.”

Intelligence committee member Joaquin Castro argued testimony from Pompeo, Mulvaney, and other administration officials isn’t necessary before drafting articles of impeachment. He said he wished they had “come in to testify and cooperate the way other government witnesses have come forward” and that “it would certainly be helpful.”

But, he said, “I also believe we’ve seen enough evidence now to move forward with articles of impeachment.”

What happened during EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony: Sondland, in his opening statement, made clear that some of President Trump’s senior-most aides were aware of a link between US aid to Ukraine and the country opening investigations that would benefit Trump politically.

“Everyone was in the loop,” he said. “It was no secret.”

Two Trump campaign sources say EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s allegation of a quid pro quo implicating Trump and top administration officials “blindsided” aides inside the White House, the re-election campaign as well as some Republican lawmakers.”

As Sondland’s testimony stretched into the afternoon, the source said GOP members decided to quickly pivot to what they felt were “inconsistencies” in Sondland’s testimony. “It reflects poorly on him,” the source said of portions of Sondland’s testimony where he later acknowledged he was presuming that aid was tied to investigations of Democrats.

A separate Trump campaign adviser was furious with Sondland’s testimony, calling it “aggravating.” The adviser said it came as a complete surprise that the EU Ambassador would implicate senior members of the administration. “It was really bizarre,” the adviser said, adding Sondland appeared to be throwing top administration officials under the bus in real time.

A third campaign source said enough questions were raised about Sondland’s testimony by GOP members to protect Trump from sustaining serious damage. “No direct hit,” the Trump adviser said.

Another campaign source in touch with the White House team handling impeachment today said at the outset of the Sondland hearing, those aides seemed to be distressed – seemed to be “freaking out.” The source acknowledged Sondland’s testimony undermined the White House’s central argument that there was “no quid pro quo,” noting there are some Trump allies who have wanted to shift from that to arguing the appearance of quid pro quo was really just the President executing his legitimate foreign policy goals. 

House Intelligence Committee Democrats, including Chairman Adam Schiff, arrived at the basement room of the Capitol a few minutes ago where members are voting now on who will replace the late Elijah Cummings as Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Schiff did not take questions on his way in.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also arrived, not taking questions either.

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland has left the Longworth House office building. He got into a black SUV in front of the building.

There are some anti-Trump protesters gathered that Sondland walked past on his way out.

Morgan Ortagus, State Department Spokesperson, just said in a statement that Sondland “never told Secretary Pompeo that he believed the President was linking aid to investigations of political opponents.”

Ortagus added, “Any suggestions to the contrary is flat out false.”

More context: Sondland, in his opening statement, made clear that some of President Trump’s senior-most aides were aware of a link between US aid to Ukraine and the country opening investigations that would benefit Trump politically.

“Everyone was in the loop,” he said. “It was no secret.”

Sondland said Pompeo was kept apprised on his efforts in Ukraine, and cites emails to the top diplomat showing he raised the issue of linking aid to Ukraine with investigations. Sondland also says “based on my communications with Secretary Pompeo,” he felt comfortable raising concerns about the linkage to a top aide to Zelensky.

What Pompeo previously said about the investigations: Asked on ABC in October about claims the White House conditioned US aid on investigations, Pompeo said: “I never saw that in the decision-making process that I was a part of.”

“The conversation was always around, what were the strategic implications? Would that money get to the right place?” he said.

The House Intelligence Committee’s hearing with US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland just wrapped up. It started around 9 a.m. ET.

The committee has a second hearing scheduled — with Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs — for today.

That hearing was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., but was delayed after House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff added extra round of questioning to Sondland’s hearing and after the committee took several breaks.

Ambassador Gordon Sondland just reacted to President Trump’s shifting tone about him.

“Easy come, easy go,” he said.

More on this: Earlier today, Trump reacted to Sondland’s testimony, saying, “This is not a man I know well.”

He made a similar comment about Sondland earlier this month after the ambassador reversed his previous testimony to impeachment investigators.

At the time, Trump said, “Let me just tell you: I hardly know the gentleman.”

Trump’s remarks have significantly shifted from his complimentary previous comments about Sondland.

In a tweet on Oct. 8, Trump called Sondland “a really good man and great American.” He said he would love to “send” Sondland to testify, but not before a “totally compromised kangaroo court.”

EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland said he assumes President Trump “would benefit” from an investigation into the Bidens.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who asked the question, shot back, “There we have it!” which generated applause inside the room, adding, “Didn’t hurt a bit!”

An annoyed Sondland responded to Maloney, “I’ve been very forthright.”

He said he resented Maloney’s question.

A heated Maloney responded to Sondland, “We appreciate your candor. Be clear on what it took to get it out of you,” referring to the multiple times that Sondland has changed his testimony. 

Sondland then agreed with Maloney that the withholding of aid put Ukraine in a “terrible position.”

Rapper A$AP Rocky was mentioned several times during US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s testimony, leaving the New York-based rapper trending on Twitter. 

In his opening statement, Sondland said that a July 26 phone call he had with President Trump, which allegedly included investigation talk, lasted five minutes and was “primarily about” A$AP Rocky, who Trump had been trying to free from incarceration in Sweden. 

The rapper’s name and case was brought up at least five times as lawmakers questioned the ambassador.  

According to testimony of David Holmes on Saturday, a diplomat at the US embassy in Ukraine, Sondland recommended that Trump “let [A$AP Rocky] get sentenced, play the racism card, give him a ticker-tape when he comes home.” 

The rapper — whose real name is Rakim Mayers — was involved in a street brawl in Stockholm on June 30. He was found guilty, and the Swedish court handed him a conditional sentence during a ruling he was not present for. 

While he was in custody, Trump said Sweden “let our African American community down,” by not freeing the rapper.

Democrats’ repeated references to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney highlight his continued centrality to the impeachment probe — a spotlight that’s shaken his position with President Trump.

Ever since Mulvaney took to the White House briefing room to acknowledge a quid pro quo and told reporters to “get over it,” his words have proven consistently problematic for Republicans who argue exactly the opposite. 

Mulvaney attempted to walk the statement back, but his on-camera words have persisted.

That was clear today when Rep. Joaquin Castro played two clips of Mulvaney’s press briefing (or attempted to — there were some technical issues).

Sondland also placed Mulvaney closer to the center of the alleged scheme, saying he was “in the loop” along with other top officials, though acknowledged he’d only held a single formal meeting with the chief of staff and it wasn’t about Ukraine.

Remember: Mulvaney has refused to cooperate with congressional investigators, who want to know more about his role. He’s defied a subpoena and executed some complicated legal wrangling, much to the chagrin of the White House counsel’s office, with whom Mulvaney is feuding.

The attention on Mulvaney has not helped his standing with Trump, who views it as another negative headline amid many.

People familiar with the situation have said over the past weeks that it’s unlikely Trump would dismiss Mulvaney amid the current crisis in the hopes of preventing further chaos.

But Mulvaney will have been in his job for year in January — and there’s little indication Trump is prepared to drop “acting” from his title.

As the impeachment inquiry continues, President Trump just landed in Austin, Texas, where he’s expected to tour an Apple plant and meet with CEO Tim Cook.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham retweeted a comment from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in which he said, “Democrats claim impeachment won’t keep them from legislating. But Speaker Pelosi has refused to allow a vote on USMCA for months. It appears there’s no governing priority – no matter how bipartisan, no matter how beneficial to Americans – that won’t take a backseat to impeachment.”

“So true. As a true President should,” Grisham added.

Read the tweets below:

The US government has still not provided Ukraine with the entirety of the $250 million in military aid, the White House’s freezing of which helped launch the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

Some $35.2 million was not obligated by the end of the 2019 fiscal year, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

CNN had previously reported that due to the Trump administration’s hold on the aid — a hold that was not lifted until Sept. 11 — the Pentagon did not believe it could obligate the entirety of the $250 million aid package before the end of the fiscal year, risking the money being returned to the Treasury.

However, Congress passed a continuing resolution that provided the Defense Department the authority to keep spending the money until September 30, 2020. 

The exact amount of unobligated funds was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The House Intelligence Committee’s second hearing of the day was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.

But the first — which has featured dramatic testimony from US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland — is still going.

The hearing with Sondland started just after 9 a.m. ET. Committee Chair Adam Schiff ordered an additional round of questioning — 30 minutes for the Democrats, and 30 minutes for the Republicans — and the committee has taken several breaks, leading to the delay.

The afternoon hearing will feature testimony from Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs. It’s not clear when it could start.

During the hearing today, Rep. Mike Coway tried to undercut Rep. Adam Schiff‘s claims that the whistleblowers anonymity was protected by statute.

Under 2012 guidelines issued by President Obama, whistleblowers are protected from work-related retaliation, including “an appointment, promotion, or performance evaluation, or any other significant change in duties, responsibilities or working conditions.”

Facts First: It is true that no law explicitly prevents anyone, other than the Inspector General and their staff, from revealing the name of a whistleblower. But that doesn’t mean it’s legal to identify them, or that they are wholly unprotected.In 1998, Congress passed the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, which formalized the process under which whistleblowers from the intelligence community could report complaints to Congress.

Revealing the whistleblower’s name does not clearly fall under one of these categories.

Robert Litt, former general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Obama, argues it could be considered retaliatory if the individual disclosing the name is also a member of the intelligence community.

But Litt notes that if members of Congress identified the whistleblower on the floor of Congress, they would be protected from criminal prosecution under the Speech or Debate Clause. Experts note that this situation is largely unprecedented, therefore the answer is not so cut and dried.

You can read more about the protections regarding anonymity that whistleblowers have here.

Ambassador Gordon Sondland said he and President Trump are “not close friends” and have a “professional, cordial working relationship.”

Earlier today, Trump said he doesn’t know Sondland well and hasn’t spoken to him much.

On the question of how often they spoke, Sondland said around 20 times.

“If that’s often then it’s often,” he said.

Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, just brought up a Washington Post article that GOP Rep. Mike Conway entered into the record.

The article, according to Conway, said House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff’s “claim the whistleblower has a statutory right to anonymity received three Pinocchios.”

While Speier discussed the article and the whistleblower, Conway interrupted her to say: “The article goes through that and three Pinocchios in spite of that conversation,” 

Some in the room laughed and applauded.

See the moment:

Ambassador Gordon Sondland agreed that the withholding of aid to Ukraine and a White House meeting likely helped Russia.

Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, asked Sondland if Russia benefitted from the temporary freeze of US military aid for Ukraine, and the withholding of a White House invitation from the new Ukrainian president, who took office this year.

Other witnesses in the inquiry, including national security officials who worked in the White House, testified that President Trump’s actions gave Russia a boost, because his actions undermined the new Ukrainian leader. Ukraine has been at war with Russia its aligned militias since 2014, after the annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine.

Trump’s decision to freeze military aid for Ukraine is one of many things he’s done to help Russia over the years. 

Ambassador Gordon Sondland told lawmakers he has received many threats as a result of the inquiry.

“We have countless emails apparently to my wife. Our properties are being picketed and boycotted,” he explained to the House Intelligence Committee.

Sondland said there are demonstrations “going on as we speak” in front of his hotels.

EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland pushed back in a heated exchange with Republican Rep. Mike Turner.

Turner told Sondland, “You have no testimony today that ties President Trump to a scheme to withhold aid from Ukraine in exchange for these investigations.”

Sondland responded, “Other than my own presumptions.”

Turner called that “nothing” and “hearsay evidence.”

“I never said the president of the United States should be impeached,” Sondland said.

Chairman Schiff responded to this line of questioning.

He said the Republicans “seem to be under the impression” that unless Trump explicitly said to Sondland, “I am bribing the Ukrainian President” or “I’m telling you I’m not going to give the aid” to Ukraine then there is no evidence of quid pro quo or other potential crimes.

“Nonetheless, ambassador, you have given us a lot of evidence, of precisely that conditionality of both the white house meeting and the military assistance,” Schiff said.

Watch:

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani doesn’t appear enamored of the Republican’s staff attorney Stephen Castor.

“I would appreciate his apology,” Giuliani wrote.

During his second round of questioning, Castor asked Sondland, “Did you know Giuliani has business interests in Ukraine?” 

“Now I understand he did,” Sondland responded. “I didn’t know that at the time.”

Here’s Giuliani’s latest tweet:

President Trump just tweeted that the “impeachment Witch Hunt is now OVER.”

Trump said that when US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland asked him, “What do you want from Ukraine?” he replied “I WANT NOTHING!”

Sondland is still in front of the House Intelligence Committee, testifying in the impeachment inquiry.

These tweets are similar to what Trump said when he spoke to reporters earlier this morning.

EU ambassador Gordon Sondland said he believed Trump “was down on Ukraine” based on a May 23 White House meeting.

At that meeting, the President expressed deep skepticism of Ukraine and told officials to “talk to Rudy” about Ukrainian officials’ alleged wrongdoing.

Sondland added that he believed Trump “would need a lot of convincing” to change his opinion on Ukraine — and that’s why him and other officials were “pushing so hard for the meeting between the President and President Zelensky,” he said.

“We thought once the two of them would meet his impression of Ukraine, stock about Ukraine would go up,” Sondland said. 

Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, dismissed Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony, saying it was “not convincing” because of the discrepancy with the past testimony.

He described the GOP as still “unified” in support of Trump.

He added that “some of our best questioning has yet to occur by Republican members.”

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff asked Gordon Sondland about the hold that was put on the aid to Ukraine.

Sondland said that, during a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, asked, “When do we get our money?”

Here’s the exchange:

Schiff: “They understood that the security assistance was being held up, right?”

Sondland: “I don’t know when they understood it, but presumably they did.”

Schiff: “Well, certainly once it was public, they understood the security assistance was withheld, right?”

Sondland: “Once it was public, I assume so.”

Schiff: “And indeed, that was one of the issues brought up in that meeting between Zelensky and Pence in Warsaw?”

Sondland: I think as I testified previously, chairman, I think Zelensky if I recall, asked the question more open ended, like ‘When do we get our money?’”

Mark Sandy, a senior career official at the Office of Management and Budget who testified behind closed doors on Saturday, is reviewing the transcript of his deposition today, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff announced.

The transcript would be available after Sandy finishes reviewing it and any personal information is redacted, Schiff added.

About Sandy: In his closed-door testimony, he detailed a budget process that went off the rails when nearly $400 million in US military aid to Ukraine was withheld earlier this year. He said he did not know for sure the reasoning behind the freeze in funds, sources familiar with his testimony told CNN.

Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel told CNN’s Lauren Fox that Gordon Sondland could be “the John Dean” of this impeachment inquiry.

He also said the committees should not have an artificial deadline of when to wrap up the inquiry. If it needs to go longer, then he said “we’ve got to continue.”

“If there’s new things that come out, we may have to go along with it,” Engel said. “We’ve got to continue, see if they corroborate.”

He also said that the President “better than anybody else, [is] in the best position to know what happened,” Engel said.

Remember: Former White House Counsel John Dean’s testimony in the Watergate investigation helped topple Richard Nixon’s presidency.

We’re back from lunch. Members each get 5 minutes to question Gordon Sondland. There are 22 members on the committee.

During the testimony, ranking member Devin Nunes claimed that Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee paid for the infamous Steele dossier about then-candidate Donald Trump.

Nunes mentions “conspiracy theories that were spun in the Steele dossier” and asserts “that Democrats on this committee own” the dossier. “They paid for it.”

Facts First: This is incorrect. A law firm representing the Democratic National Committee and then-candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS who then, in turn, hired former British spy Christopher Steele to compile intelligence about Trump’s ties to Russia.

Earlier in the hearing, Nunes correctly said that “Democrats” had paid for the dossier. But it is incorrect to claim that members on the Intelligence Committee specifically “paid for” or own the dossier.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation did not agree with the main allegation in the dossier – that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. But several other claims from Steele’s memos were corroborated over time.

As President Trump is distancing himself from US ambassador to EU Gordon Sondland, CNN’s Dana Bash reminded us that the President himself appointed Sondland to his post.

Trump spoke to reporters moments ago, and repeatedly said he told Sondland over the phone that on Ukraine, he wanted “nothing.”

“This is not a man I know well,” he added.

Watch more:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters today, said he won’t recuse himself from Ukraine matters.

He also said he didn’t watch Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony today. 

“I’m not going to recuse myself from this,” Pompeo said at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “I know precisely what American policy was with respect to Ukraine.”

He continued: 

The House Intelligence Committee is on now a 30-minute break. Chair Adam Schiff said they’re taking the break so Ambassador Gordon Sondland can “get a bite to eat.”

When they return from the break, members get five minutes each to ask questions. There are 22 members.

The press secretary for the Department of Energy just released a statement denying claims Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland has made during this hearing.

The statement says Sondland “misrepresented both Secretary Perry’s interaction with Rudy Giuliani and direction the Secretary received from President Trump.”

Some context: Sondland testified today that he had discussed investigations into Burisma and the Bidens in a July 19 email sent to several top US officials, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry. This came days before President Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president.

Read the full statement:

Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, again went after Democrats and the impeachment inquiry, saying they are having “Watergate fantasies.”

Nunes claimed Ambassador Gordon Sondland did not have access to review Mark Sandy’s testimony before today’s hearing. Sandy, a senior career official at the Office of Management and Budget, testified on Saturday about a budget process that went off the rails when nearly $400 million in US military aid to Ukraine was withheld earlier this year. He said he did not know for sure the reasoning behind the freeze in funds, sources familiar with his testimony told CNN.

Watch:

In his statement, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short said, “Multiple witnesses have testified under oath that Vice President Pence never raised Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joe Biden, Crowdstrike, Burisma, or investigations in any conversation with Ukrainians or President Zelensky before, during, or after the September 1 meeting in Poland.”

But remember: Sondland did not allege that today. He only said he brought it up with Pence before he went into his meeting with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky. 

“The Vice President never had a conversation with Gordon Sondland about investigating the Bidens, Burisma, or the conditional release of financial aid to Ukraine based upon potential investigations,” Short said, denying what Sondland had alleged. 

And he does not deny that Pence was aware that this was out there: Remember that during his CBS interview last month Pence refused to answer whether he was aware of “such a deal,” meaning the conditions for the aid. 

After repeated efforts, CBS’s Margaret Brennan said, “I haven’t gotten a clear answer from you on that though, sir. I do have to leave the interview there. But are you saying that you did not ever hear of such a deal? Is that what I understand you’re describing?”

Pence replied, “I’m telling you that all of my interactions with the President, all of my conversations with President Zelensky, were entirely focused on issues of importance to the American people, ending corruption, enlisting more European support–

Brennan: “OK.”

Pence: “— and supporting Ukraine in a way that would restore its territorial integrity and stand by Ukraine for its sovereignty.”

Echoing President Trump’s departure comments, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham reiterated in a statement that Trump “clearly stated that he ‘wanted nothing’ from Ukraine and repeated ‘no quid pro quo over and over again.’”

Here’s Grisham’s statement:

More context: Earlier today, US Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified there was a quid pro quo for Ukraine to announce investigations into President Trump’s political opponents that came from the President’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the “express direction of the President.”

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani is distancing himself from EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who is currently testifying.

In a now-deleted tweet, Giuliani said he “never met” Sondland.

Here’s a screenshot of the tweet:

What this is about: Sondland testified today there was a quid pro quo for Ukraine to announce investigations into President Trump’s political opponents that came from Rudy Giuliani at the “express direction of the President.”

Sondland said he — along with Rick Perry and US diplomat Kurt Volker — didn’t want to work with Giuliani on Ukraine matters, but they did so because “we were playing the hand we were dealt.”

Moments ago, President Trump reacted to Ambassador Gordon Sondland and his testimony, saying, “This is not a man I know well.”

He’s made a similar comment about Sondland earlier this month after the ambassador reversed his previous testimony to impeachment investigators.

At the time, Trump said, “Let me just tell you: I hardly know the gentleman.”

Fact First: Trump’s remarks are significantly different than his complimentary previous comments about Sondland.

On Oct. 4, Trump tried to distance himself from other officials who had provided damaging information to impeachment investigators, saying, “I don’t even know most of these ambassadors. I didn’t even know their names.”

But Trump made an exception for Sondland, whom he called “highly respected.”

In a tweet on Oct. 8, Trump called Sondland “a really good man and great American.” He said he would love to “send” Sondland to testify, but not before a “totally compromised kangaroo court.”

More on their relationship: Sondland, a hotelier and major Republican donor in Oregon (who has also given to some Democrats), criticized Trump during the 2016 campaign after Trump attacked the parents of late Army Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim American who was killed in Iraq in 2004. When Trump was elected, however, Sondland donated $1 million to the inauguration through four limited liability companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The donation appeared to have put Sondland back in the good graces of Trump’s team, but it still took Trump months to come around to the idea of nominating Sondland, CNN has previously reported. Trump nominated Sondland as EU ambassador in May 2018.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN: “Yeah, I haven’t been watching the House proceedings.”

Here’s what a few other senators said:

Sen. Lindsey Graham said he’s watching “bits and pieces, headlines across the stream.”

Asked about Sondland’s testimony about conditions imposed on the Ukrainians, Graham said, “I thought he said that the President never mentioned a conditionality.”

On Sondland overall, Graham added: “Let’s see what he says. I’m very suspicious of why people all of a sudden [say] two and two is four when two and two wasn’t four before. Let’s just hear him out.”

Republican Sen. David Perdue said he’s watching “a little bit.”

“I’m very troubled. First of all, they’re denying the rights to an American president that we fight for every day for everybody in the country,” he said.

“These fundamental human rights are being denied to him right now. My view is it’s nothing but a sham and a show trial. Nothing that I’ve seen rises to the level of impeachable. And we’ll be able to educate the American people about that when it gets over here.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, another Republican, added, “I haven’t seen much.” Then walked away when asked about details from Sondland’s testimony.

President Trump, speaking to reporters today before leaving for Texas, read off a statement that appeared to be written in black Sharpie.

In large letters, the statement read:

Ranking member Devin Nunes just wrapped up his 45-minute round of questions. Afterward, House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff announced that both the Democrats and the Republicans will each get another 30-minute round to question Gordon Sondland.

Under the protocols for the House impeachment inquiry, Schiff can add additional rounds of questioning, so long as both sides get equal time.

Only Schiff and Nunes — or their lawyers — will get to ask questions. After these 30-minute rounds, each member will get five minutes to ask questions.

President Trump spoke to reporters ahead of his departure to Austin, Texas, moments ago. He did not answer questions from reporters, instead previewing his trip and reading a statement on Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony from a notepad.

Trump distanced himself from Sondland, holding up a thick stack of papers saying, “I just noticed one thing and I would say that means it’s all over.”

Trump repeatedly said he told Sondland over the phone that on Ukraine, he wanted “nothing.”

Trump also noted that Sondland’s support for his presidential campaign “came in late.”

Sen. Cornyn speaks to the press in 2018.

GOP Sen. John Cornyn dismissed testimony by Ambassador Gordon Sondland about a quid pro quo, saying, “The President can meet with anybody he wants to” and the “military aid was released.”

“I just think this is an impeachment process in search of a rationale, and I don’t think they’ve gotten one yet,” he told CNN.

Asked if there is nothing here that concerns him about the President’s actions, he replied:

Several Republican senators say they haven’t been watching today’s hearing and bombshell testimony from Ambassador Gordon Sondland on Capitol Hill.

Here’s what they said:

Gordon Sondland said he never talked to President Trump about “preconditions” for the Ukraine aid to be released, but his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani made “demands” that came from Trump.

“When the President says, ‘talk to my personal attorney’ and then Mr. Guiliani, as his personal attorney, makes certain requests or demands, we assume it’s coming from the President,” Sondland said.

Watch more:

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks in Warsaw on September 2, 2019.

Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short said Pence never spoke to Gordon Sondland about investigating the Bidens.

Here’s the rest of the statement:

Some context: Sondland testified today that he raised concerns with Pence that the freezing of $400 million in security aid to Ukraine was linked to the investigations.

There are a lot of gaps in what US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland actually can remember: He is clear he is not a note-taker.

He doesn’t dispute many of the testimonies so far, including David Holmes, who overheard his July 26 phone call with Trump. But he doesn’t remember as clearly as other witnesses we have seen. Republicans might seize on this memory lapse in their questions. 

Meanwhile, Democrats are seizing on why withholding documents is so problematic.

Sondland testified that he didn’t take notes, and he has struggled to get documents that would help jog his memory from the State Department. This helps Democrats push the narrative that the withholding of documents is an impediment for their investigation. 

Rep. Devin Nunes once again accused Ukraine of interfering in the 2016 election to help Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and that the Democrats colluded with the Ukrainian government.

These are false conspiracy theories.

Nunes has made these controversial statements at all of the public impeachment hearings so far, but they are not true. His claims contradict testimony from multiple US national security officials, who recently told lawmakers in public hearings and private depositions that the Ukrainian government did not interfere in the 2016 election.

In addition: The FBI, CIA, DOJ, DNI, NSA, and two Congressional committees concluded that it was Russia who interfered in the 2016 election. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation confirmed these conclusions, and his 448-page report pinned the blame on the Russian government and never accused Ukraine of any interference. Many of Trump’s handpicked appointees to lead US intelligence agencies also say it was Russia who meddled in 2016.

Democrats suffered a major blow during Daniel Goldman’s questioning when Gordon Sondland repeatedly said President Trump never told him directly that security assistance was tied to the announcement of investigations.

But, Sondland also said the vice president, the secretary of state and other top White House officials were all in the loop on what was going on with regards to Ukraine. He referred to that July 19 email in his opening statement. And, he said he spoke up in a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence saying he believed the military aid to be tied to the announcement of investigations. Pence did not push back. Sondland said he “nodded like he heard what I said.”

Sondland is such a stark contrast to the career diplomats we have seen before. In the room, he seems calm and comfortable in the hot seat. He isn’t cowering to questions. And when he is irritated or annoyed by a question, he doesn’t hide it. He has a very different posture than the other witnesses so far.

The FBI asked last month to interview the anonymous whistleblower who filed the complaint about the President’s July 25 call with Ukraine’s president that ultimately led to the current House impeachment inquiry.  

The FBI’s Washington Field Office reached out in mid-October to lawyers for the whistleblower and asked to interview the whistleblower regarding the complaint filed with the IC IG, according to a source familiar with the request.

The source says the lawyers and FBI have been in contact regarding the request.

The FBI’s request was made weeks after the Justice Department said it had decided not to pursue a campaign finance investigation based on the call.

Yahoo first reported that the FBI is seeking the whistleblower interview.

The Republicans now get 45 minutes to ask questions.

Former US attorney Preet Bharara called Sondland’s testimony a “huge inflection point” in the impeachment inquiry.

Bharara said Sondland “exploded all of the defenses you expected” from Republicans and came with “chapter and verse receipts, as they say, saying how many were in the loop” on Ukraine aid being withheld.  

He continued:

Watch more:

House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff called US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland’s bombshell testimony today is some of the “most significant evidence” so far in the impeachment inquiry.

“I think today’s testimony is among the most significant evidence to date,” he told reporters in the hallway just moments ago.

Watch more:

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland is testifying this morning, and he’s mentioned his July 26 phone call with President Trump several times. Here’s what the President and Sondland have said about the call:

The Democrats just concluded their 45-minute questioning of the witness. When the hearing returns from a short break, Republicans will get 45 minutes to ask their questions.

After that, each member gets 5 minutes to question Sondland. There are 22 members on this committee.

In Rep. Devin Nunes’s opening statement, he listed a series of “conspiracy theories” that he accused Democrats of spreading, regarding President Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign, all of which Nunes claimed were false.

Several of the things he mentioned were, in fact, false, as he claimed. In the first two years of Trump’s presidency, many Democrats hurled accusations at Trump and his campaign regarding their alleged collusion with Russia.

But Nunes also said it was false that “the Trump campaign based some of its activities on these stolen documents,” referring to emails that the Russians hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. The Russians later gave these files to WikiLeaks, which released thousands of emails throughout 2016.

Facts First: Nunes says it’s false, but it’s true. This was confirmed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who concluded that the Trump campaign expected to benefit from, and strategized its messaging around, the leaked emails.

According to the report, Mueller’s investigation found “that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.” The report also said that “by the late summer of 2016, the Trump Campaign was planning a press strategy, a communications campaign and messaging based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks,” citing testimony from senior Trump campaign official Rick Gates.

The Democrats’ lawyer, Daniel Goldman, asked Ambassador Gordon Sondland if he recalled telling President Trump that the Ukrainian leader “loves your ass” during a July 26 call at a restaurant in Kiev.

Sondland conceded that he could have said that because it “sounds like something I would say.”

Sondland went on to say he also probably said the Ukrainian president would do anything Trump asked of him during that call.

He explained that he was putting it in “Trump-speak.”

Sondland said the Ukrainian president was “very willing to work with the United States and was being very amicable and so putting it in Trump-speak, by saying he ‘loves your ass, he will do what you want’ meant that he would really work with us on a whole host of issues.”

Watch more:

House lawyer Daniel Goldman asked Sondland about two private phone calls he had with President Trump on July 25 and July 26.

“So that’s two private telephone calls with President Trump in the span of two days. Is that right?” He asked.

Sondland responded, “I had occasional access when he chose to take my calls. Sometimes he would, sometimes he wouldn’t.”

Goldman pointed out that Trump “certainly took your call twice as it related to Ukraine on these two days.”

Sondland responded, “He did.”

Watch the exchange:

EU ambassador Gordon Sondland is making clear that some of President Trump’s senior-most aides were aware of a link between US aid to Ukraine and the country opening investigations that would benefit Trump politically.

“Everyone was in the loop,” he said in his opening statement. “It was no secret.”

Here is what he says these officials knew, and that they’ve said before today about their involvement:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Sondland says his efforts to pressure Ukraine into opening the investigations came at the “express direction of the President of the United States.” 

What Trump has said: Trump has been adamant in his self-defense, insisting over and over there was “no quid pro quo” in Ukraine.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Sondland says he told Pence in early September that he was concerned US aid to Ukraine was being tied to investigations into Trump’s political rivals. 

What Pence has said: Under repeated questioning, Pence has refused to say whether he knew there was a link between US aid and investigations. He’s denied ever linking the issues in his own conversations with Zelensky, and told CBS last month, “I can only tell you what I know, and what I know is that the transcript of the President’s call with President Zelensky shows that there was no quid pro quo.”

SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO: Sondland says Pompeo was kept apprised on his efforts in Ukraine, and cites emails to the top diplomat showing he raised the issue of linking aid to Ukraine with investigations.

Sondland also says “based on my communications with Secretary Pompeo,” he felt comfortable raising concerns about the linkage to a top aide to Zelensky.

What Pompeo has said: Asked on ABC about claims the White House conditioned US aid on investigations, Pompeo said in October, “I never saw that in the decision-making process that I was a part of.”

ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MICK MULVANEY: Sondland says an email to Mulvaney on July 19 to set up a phone call between Trump and Zelensky made the alleged exchange clear. Mulvaney responded that he was asking the NSC to arrange the call for the next day.

What Mulvaney has said: In a now-infamous news conference, Mulvaney confirmed there was a quid pro quo but downplayed its significance. He later denied he said that. He’s refused to be interviewed by Congressional investigators.

ENERGY SECRETARY RICK PERRY: Sondland says Perry was directly involved in carrying out the wishes of President Trump by working with Giuliani to secure the investigations.

What Perry has said: Perry has denied any quid pro quo, including in an interview with Fox: “There was no quid pro quo in the sense of what those folks out there would like for it to be…I never heard that said anywhere, anytime in any conversation.” He’s also refused to cooperate with the investigation.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER JOHN BOLTON: Like other witnesses, Sondland recalls a meeting in Bolton’s office on July 10 where he linked the investigations and a White House meeting for President Zelensky. Sondland also says Bolton’s office requested Giuliani’s contact info before a visit to Kiev.

What Bolton has said: Bolton has remained silent as the impeachment proceeding advances. He has defied a Congressional subpoena, and wants a judge to decide whether he should cooperate with investigators or follow the White House guidance not to comply.

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland said his July 26 call with President Trump was on an open, unsecured line. CNN previously reported that several former officials said there is a high probability that intelligence agencies from numerous foreign countries, including Russia, were listening in on the conversation.

That phone call was revealed by top US diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor in his testimony before the House Intelligence committee last week. Taylor said one of his aides overheard the call between Trump and Sondland in which Trump asked about “investigations” at a restaurant.

Democrats’ lawyer Daniel Goldman asked Sondland about the call. Here’s their exchange:

Watch more:

House Democrats’ counsel Daniel Goldman pointed out that Sondland’s testimony is that he now remembers that infamous July 26 phone with President Trump he had while sitting in a restaurant in Kiev.

This is the call where they discussed investigations that President Trump wanted Ukraine to announce.

Sondland, who said he isn’t a notetaker, said, “What triggered my memory was someone’s reference to A$AP Rocky, which I believe was the primary focus of the phone call.” 

Watch more:

Castor, left, and Goldman, right.

House lawyers Daniel Goldman and Steve Castor will be asking questions on behalf of lawmakers at today’s hearing.

Goldman will be working on behalf of the Democrats while Castor will be leading the questions for Republican lawmakers.

Goldman, the panel’s senior adviser for the Democrats, and Castor, the House Oversight committee’s general counsel for the Republicans, have been key figures in the inquiry, guiding witnesses through their timelines, urging them to describe in detail what they learned when and following up with short, pointed questions.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) arrives for a NATO Foreign Affairs ministers' summit in Brussels on Nov. 20.

US Ambassador Gordon Sondland just testified that he kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fully apprised of what was going on with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Pompeo is in Brussels.

Pompeo is in the Belgian city — where Sondland is usually based — for the NATO foreign ministerial. He has ignored shouted questions from the traveling press about Sondland’s testimony, but he typically does not answer these types of questions.

Pompeo told the traveling press on Tuesday that he had not been watching the public hearings, saying he’s “not transfixed with it.”

EU ambassador Gordon Sondland was asked by Chairman Adam Schiff about testimony from diplomat staffer David Holmes that Sondland told him that Trump only cares about “big stuff.”

Schiff asked Sondland if he disputes Holmes’ testimony that Trump “only cares about big stuff that relates to him personally.”

Sondland said he didn’t dispute Holmes’ recollection of this conversation.

More context: Last week, Holmes testified in a closed-door deposition that he overheard a July 26 call between Trump and Sondland where they discussed investigations in Ukraine. Sondland confirmed this call with Trump during his testimony today. According to Holmes, after Sondland got off the phone with Trump he told Holmes that the President doesn’t care about Ukraine and only cares about “big stuff” that relates to Trump personally.

Watch the moment:

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland said at first, there was a “very generic” request for an investigation into Ukraine corruption — but it got more specific over time.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff asked Sondland about the “continuum of insidiousness” he previously testified about.

“In your deposition, you testified that you found yourself on a continuum that became more insidious over time. Can you describe what you mean by this continuum of insidiousness?” Schiff asked.

Here’s how he responded: 

Watch more:

President Trump is watching Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony, according to a White House official.

The President is traveling today and won’t see all of it, so the official says Trump will be briefed on the testimony by staff later today.

Gordon Sondland, US ambassador to the European Union, told lawmakers that he had discussed the investigation in a July 19 email sent to several top US officials. This came days before President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian leader.

Here’s who was on the email, according to Sondland:

“Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret. Everyone was informed via email on July 19, days before the presidential call,” Sondland said.

“As I communicated to the team, I told President Zelensky in advance that assurances to ‘run a fully transparent investigation’ and ‘turn over every stone’ were necessary in his call with President Trump,” he said.

Here what he said was in the email:

He said Mulvaney responded: “I asked NSC to set it up for tomorrow.”

Watch:

Vice President Mike Pence is getting far away from Washington. It’s his latest effort to distance himself from the impeachment inquiry as US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland testifies that he raised concerns with him about freezing security aid to Ukraine.

Pence took off on Air Force Two from Joint Base Andrews minutes after Sondland’s testimony began. 

What he’s doing today: He is due to land in Green Bay, Wisconsin, around 11 a.m. ET. He will tour the USS Cooperstown and deliver remarks at Fincantieri Marinette Marine. Pence then travels to his native Indianapolis, where he’ll deliver remarks at the Strada Education Network’s National Symposium, returning to Washington later in the evening.

The challenge for Pence throughout the impeachment inquiry, as it’s always been in the administration, is balancing the need to appear loyal to Trump with staying clear of the President’s countless controversies. 

The plan to protect him, according to sources close to the vice president, has been to get him on the road. Pence has traveled frequently in the weeks since the House launched its investigation, from touting the administration’s US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s opening statement explicitly tied President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the campaign to put pressure on Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

Here’s what Sondland said about each, according to a copy of his prepared remarks:

In his opening statement, EU ambassador talked about WhatsApp conversations that he had with other officials that concerned Rudy Giuliani’s dealing with corrupt former Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko. Those conversations also involved Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s directions to US diplomats to continue to deal with Giuliani on Ukraine.

Sondland said he and top diplomat Kurt Volker discussed Giuliani’s manuevers in the July exchange on WhatsApp.

Sondland wrote:

Volker responded:

Sondland said “three things” were critical about this WhatsApp exchange:

On Pompeo, Sondland added: “In a WhatsApp message, Kurt Volker told me in part: ‘Spoke w Rudy per guidance from S.’ S means the Secretary of State.”

Watch Sondland read the messages:

In his opening statement, EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland described his July 26 call with Trump — which took place one day after Trump’s call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky where Trump raised the topic of investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden.

He continued: “Again, given Mr. Giuliani’s demand that President Zelensky make a public statement about investigations, I knew that the topic of investigations was important to President Trump. We did not discuss any classified information.”

Sondland said he had no recollection of discussing former Vice President Biden or his son, Hunter Biden.

Why this is big: Last week, diplomat Bill Taylor revealed that this call took place. Taylor said one his staffers, David Holmes, overheard this exchange between Trump and Sondland. Holmes later confirmed this in a closed-door deposition.

Hear Sondland’s description:

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland turned the State Department’s argument that the impeachment hearings process has been unfair back at them, suggesting they have made the process less fair and transparent by not allowing him to access his department phone records, emails and other documents. 

He continued: “My lawyers and I have made multiple requests to the State Department and the White House for these materials. Yet, these materials were not provided to me. They have also refused to share these materials with this Committee. These documents are not classified and, in fairness, should have been made available. In the absence of these materials, my memory has not been perfect,” Sondland said. “And I have no doubt that a more fair, open, and orderly process of allowing me to read the State Department records would have made this process more transparent.”

Some context: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly denounced the House impeachment inquiry as unfair, specifically noting that the department has not been permitted to have its counsel in the room during closed door hearings.

“What’s been so troubling is that this inquiry has been conducted in a way that is fundamentally unfair, fundamentally unfair to the State Department,” Pompeo told KWCH-TV in Wichita in late October.

Moments ago, during his opening statement, House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff mentioned that the State Department has not yet turned over a single document.

Watch the moment:

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, said he “never received a clear answer” on why US security aid for Ukraine was withheld.

Sondland told lawmakers he learned of the aid hold in July and August 2019, which he said he “adamantly opposed.” The Ukrainians, he said, “needed those funds to fight against Russian aggression.”

“I tried diligently to ask why the aid was suspended, but I never received a clear answer,” Sondland said.

He said he shared concerns about a potential quid pro quo regarding the aid with the Ukrainians and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.

Watch:

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland said he — as well as Energy Secretary Rick Perry and US diplomat Kurt Volker — didn’t want to work with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters, but they did so because “we were playing the hand we were dealt.”

If they didn’t work with Giuliani, “We would lose a very important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine,” he said.

Watch the moment:

In his opening statement, Gordon Sondland described his family’s background as one of immigrants “eager for freedom and hungry for opportunity.”

He told lawmakers that his family fled Europe during the Holocaust for Uruguay, then emigrated to Seattle, Washington, where he was born and raised.

Sondland went on to say that “public service has always been important to me.”

Watch more:

In his opening statement, House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes compared President Trump to the nation’s first president, George Washington.

Here’s how he put it:

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Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes opened his remarks by welcoming EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland to testify, but he added, “Really not glad you’re here.”

Despite Sondland’s new revelation that he pressured Ukraine to open investigations at the “express direction” of President Trump, Nunes stuck to the same GOP talking points criticizing the investigation.

Instead of talking about these dealings with Ukraine — the focus of today’s hearing — Nunes’ remarks focused on other areas like the Mueller investigation and alleged Russia collusion:

He continued: “Denouncing the report as a whitewash and accusing Republicans of subverting the investigation, the Democrats issued their own report. Focusing on their now-debunked conspiracy theory that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to hack the elections.”

Watch:

The US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland was just sworn in. He’ll now give his opening statement.

Watch the moment:

Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, again blasted the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, calling it a “circus.”

“As we learned last night, story time last night, we get story time first thing this morning. Ambassador [Gordon] Sondland, welcome. Glad you’re here. Really not glad you’re here, but welcome to the fifth day of this circus,” he said.

Nunes went on to claim Democratic committee members “spent three years accusing President Trump of being a Russian agent.”

These are similar talking points Nunes used yesterday in his opening statement.

Watch more:

House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff called for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to turn over documents from the State Department.

Watch:

In his opening statement, Chairman Adam Schiff said that on September 7, EU ambassador Gordon Sondland spoke to the President and told former NSC official Tim Morrison and Ambassador Bill Taylor about the call shortly thereafter.

Watch more:

US Ambassador to the EU will testify that he — alongside Energy Secretary Rick Perry and US diplomat Kurt Volker — worked with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters “at the express direction of the President of the United States.”

Here’s what he’ll say, according to a copy of his opening statement:

In his opening statement, US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will testify that President Trump directed him to talk to Rudy Giuliani, and he wasn’t happy about it.

Gordon Sondland will testify that he agreed to testify because he respects “the gravity of the moment.”

Here’s what he’ll say, according to his opening statement:

The first hearing of the day featuring testimony from US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland has just started.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes will each give opening statements, followed by Sondland.

Later, the Democrats’ lawyer, Daniel Goldman, and the Republicans’ counsel, Steve Castor, will each have 45-minutes to ask Sondland questions.

Then, every member of the committee will get five minutes to question the witnesses. There are 22 members on the committee.

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, told Vice President Mike Pence in early September that he was concerned US aid to Ukraine was being tied to investigations into President Trump’s political rivals.

The revelation is among the news in Sondland’s opening statement. It brings Pence ever closer to the alleged “quid pro quo” that is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.

Sondland does not describe Pence’s reaction when he raised his concerns in his opening statement.

Pence has insisted previously there was no “quid pro quo” and that Trump did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine.

Sondland says in his testimony he offered Pence his view ahead of a Sept. 1 meeting in Warsaw with the Ukrainian president.

During the meeting itself, Zelensky raised the matter of the US aid, and Pence said he would speak to Trump about it.

After the meeting ended, Sondland says he spoke with a top aide to Zelensky and told him, “I believed that the resumption of US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine took some kind of action on the public statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.”

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is about to testify in a major public hearing.

This morning, Sondland will confirm the quid pro quo in his opening statement, which CNN has obtained.

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will testify today that there was a quid pro quo as it relates to “the requested White House call and White House meeting,” according to a copy of his opening remarks:

This morning, Gordon Sondland will confirm the quid pro quo in his opening statement, which CNN has obtained.

He will testify that it came from Rudy Giuliani at the direction of the President.

What’s more, Sondland provided House impeachment investigators with emails and texts showing it wasn’t just him and Giuliani pushing for the investigations outside government channels — Trump’s inner circle knew what was going on, too. He even said he raised concerns with Vice President Mike Pence that the freezing of $400 million in security aid to Ukraine was linked to the investigations.

Just last night, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted, “NO QUID PRO QUO.” 

Watch more:

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland just arrived at the US Capitol ahead of his scheduled testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

Democrats continue to build their case – one packed with damning details about a Ukraine policy that by many accounts from inside the Trump administration, had gone off the rails.

But one thing remains unknown: did Trump explicitly know about, and direct, the suspension of US security assistance to Ukraine until a statement targeting his political rival was read publicly by the Ukrainians

Bottom line: There’s a reason Rep. Mark Meadows, close ally of the president and one of his fiercest defenders on Capitol Hill said impeachment essentially “comes down to one guy” – Sondland.

With no other administration officials in direct contact with President Trump coming in to testify, at least at this point, Sondland is the link. 

Why Sondland is so important: There are about a thousand reasons on the details, from meetings, to calls, to allegations and more. But here’s two sentences that sum it up.

How and if those two things intersect is, to some degree, the ballgame. 

One day after the official White House Twitter account posted an attack against his judgment, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is expected to return to work today, according to a person close to him. The tweet came as Vindman testified in the House impeachment inquiry

About the tweet: The tweet from the official White House account, funded by taxpayer dollars, quoted closed-door testimony from Tim Morrison, Vindman’s former superior, who raised concerns about the lieutenant colonel’s judgment. It included a specially made graphic using a quote from the interview, which read: “I had concerns about Lieutenant Colonel Vindman’s judgment.”

Vindman testified yesterday. After being grilled by President Trump’s Republican allies about comments his former colleagues made about him, he responded to the tweet by reading an evaluation that Fiona Hill had signed. 

President Trump is up and on Twitter, re-tweeting Republican congressmen.

In one tweet, he shared a clip of yesterday’s impeachment inquiry hearing from Rep. Jim Jordan, adding “Read the transcripts!”

Remember: President Trump has repeatedly claimed the whistleblower lied and has told the American people to “read the transcript.” The White House has not released a word-for-word readout of the July call — it has only released a rough log. Additionally, the overwhelming majority of allegations in the complaint have been corroborated by official government documents, Trump’s public statements, and news reporting.

In another tweet, Trump applauded Rep. Mike Turner for his questions at yesterday’s hearing.

More public hearings in the impeachment inquiry will be held on today — including highly anticipated testimony from a top diplomat central to House Democrats’ investigation.

In the morning, House impeachment investigators will hear from US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland first. In the afternoon at a separate hearing, Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs, and David Hale, the under secretary of state for political affairs, will testify.

What time do the hearings start?

How can I watch?

CNN’s coverage of the hearings will air with instant analysis on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español, and will be streamed live in its entirety on CNN.com’s desktop and mobile homepages, as well as across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android.

All eyes will be on Gordon Sondland’s testimony today: It could be the most devastating in the impeachment inquiry.

The US ambassador to the European Union is emerging as Trump’s top bag carrier with the Ukrainians. Witnesses say that Trump asked Sondland on a July phone call whether “the investigation” he wanted would be announced. Sondland allegedly replied yes, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “loves your ass.”

Sondland’s testimony today could gut Trump’s entire impeachment defense that there was no quid pro quo. His dilemma: Whether to protect himself or the President?

Trump is not taking any of this terribly well. In an extraordinary moment on Friday he attacked former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, while she was giving televised evidence. She visibly blanched when told about his tweet, and Democrats are now considering adding a charge of witness tampering to articles of impeachment.

Three witnesses are scheduled to testify in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump today.

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, will be up first, at 9 a.m. ET.

Previously, Sondland reversed his closed-door testimony to say that a quid pro quo was needed from Kiev to free up military aid.

At 2:30 p.m. ET, Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs, will also testify.