The message that Ambassador Sondland communicated to Senator Johnson mirrored that used by President Trump during his July 25 call with President Zelensky, in which President Trump twice asked that the Ukrainian leader “get to the bottom of it,” including in connection to an investigation into the debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election to help Hillary Clinton.878 To the contrary, the U.S. Intelligence Community unanimously assessed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump, as did Special Counsel Robert Mueller.879
In a November 18 letter to House Republicans, Senator Johnson confirmed the accuracy of the Wall Street Journal’s account of his August 30 call with Ambassador Sondland.880
Ambassador Sondland testified that he had “no reason to dispute” Senator Johnson’s recollection of the August 30 call and testified that by late August 2019, he had concluded that “if Ukraine did something to demonstrate a serious intention to fight corruption, and specifically addressing Burisma and the 2016, then the hold on military aid would be lifted.”881
Ambassador Sondland Raised the Link Between Investigations and Security Assistance to Vice President Pence Before Meeting with President Zelensky
On September 1, President Trump was scheduled to meet President Zelensky in Warsaw, Poland during an event commemorating World War II. Citing the approach of Hurricane Dorian towards American soil, the President canceled his trip just days beforehand. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Warsaw instead.882
Jennifer Williams, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Europe and Russia, learned of the change in the President’s travel plans on August 29 and “relied heavily on the NSC briefing papers” originally prepared for President Trump. Ms. Williams recalled that “prior to leaving, [National Security Advisor to the Vice President] General Kellogg had asked, at the request of the Vice President, for an update on the status of the security assistance that was at that time still on hold.” Given the public reporting about the hold on August 29, White House officials expected that President Zelensky would seek further information on the status of the funds.883
The delegation arrived in Warsaw and gathered in a hotel room to brief the Vice President shortly before his engagement with President Zelensky. Ambassador Bolton, who had just arrived from Kyiv, led the Ukraine briefing. He updated Vice President Pence on President Zelensky’s efforts to combat corruption and explained “what the security assistance was for.” Advisors in the room “agreed on the need to get a final decision on that security assistance as soon as possible so that it could be implemented before the end of the fiscal year.”884
Before the bilateral meeting between Vice President Pence and President Zelensky, Ambassador Sondland attended a “general briefing” for the Vice President.885 Ambassador Sondland testified that he raised concerns that the delay in security assistance had “become tied to the issue of investigations.”886 The Vice President “nodded like, you know, he heard what I said.”887
During Ambassador Sondland’s public testimony, Vice President Pence’s office issued a carefully worded statement claiming that 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,” and that “Ambassador Gordon Sondland was never alone with the Vice President on the September 1 trip to Poland.”888 Ambassador Sondland did not testify that he specifically mentioned the Bidens, Burisma, or the conditional release of financial aid to Ukraine during his discussion with Vice President Pence, nor did he testify that he was alone with the Vice President.
Before Vice President Pence’s meeting with President Zelensky, Ukrainian National Security Advisor Oleksandr “Sasha” Danyliuk wrote Ambassador Taylor, incorrectly describing the failure to provide security assistance as a “gradually increasing problem.”889 In the hours before Vice President Pence’s meeting with President Zelensky, Ambassador Taylor replied, clarifying that “the delay of U.S. security assistance was an all-or-nothing proposition, in the sense that if the White House did not lift the hold prior to the end of the fiscal year, September 30th, the funds would expire and Ukraine would receive nothing.”890 Ambassador Taylor wanted to make sure Mr. Danyliuk understood that if the assistance was not provided “by the end of the fiscal year, then it goes away.”891
President Zelensky Immediately Asked Vice President Pence About Security Assistance
As expected, at the outset of the bilateral meeting, President Zelensky immediately asked Vice President Pence about the status of U.S. security assistance. It was “the very first question” that he raised.892 President Zelensky emphasized the multifold importance of American assistance, stating that “the symbolic value of U.S. support in terms of security assistance…was just as valuable to the Ukrainians as the actual dollars.”893 President Zelensky also expressed concern that “any hold or appearance of reconsideration of such assistance might embolden Russia to think that the United States was no longer committed to Ukraine.”894
According to Ms. Williams, the Vice President “assured President Zelensky that there was no change in U.S. policy in terms of our…full-throated support for Ukraine and its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”895 Vice President Pence also assured the Ukrainian delegation that he would convey to President Trump the details of President Zelensky’s “good progress on reforms, so that hopefully we could get a decision on the security assistance as soon as possible.”896
The reassurance proved to be ineffective. The Washington Post later reported that one of President Zelensky’s aides told Vice President Pence: “You’re the only country providing us military assistance. You’re punishing us.”897
Mr. Holmes testified that President Trump’s decision to cancel his Warsaw trip effectively meant that “the hold [on security assistance] remained in place, with no clear means to get it lifted.”898
Ambassador Sondland Informed President Zelensky’s Advisor that Military Aid Was Contingent on Ukraine Publicly Announcing the Investigations
After the bilateral meeting between Vice President Pence and President Zelensky, Ambassador Sondland briefly spoke to President Zelensky’s aide, Mr. Yermak. Ambassador Sondland conveyed his belief that “the resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine took some kind of action on the public statement that we had been discussing for many weeks” regarding the investigations that President Trump discussed during the July 25 call.899
Immediately following the conversation, Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Morrison what had transpired during his aside with Mr. Yermak. Mr. Morrison recounted to the Committees that Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yermak “what could help them move the aid was if the prosecutor general would go to the mike [sic] and announce that he was opening the Burisma investigation.”900
Mr. Morrison Reported Ambassador Sondland’s Proposal to Get Ukrainians “Pulled Into Our Politics” to White House Officials and Ambassador Taylor
Mr. Morrison felt uncomfortable with “any idea that President Zelensky should allow himself to be involved in our politics.”901 He promptly reported the conversation between Ambassador Sondland and Mr. Yermak to Ambassador Bolton. Mr. Morrison had concerns with “what Gordon was proposing about getting the Ukrainians pulled into our politics.”902 Ambassador Bolton told Mr. Morrison—consistent with his own “instinct”—to “make sure the lawyers are tracking.”903 Upon his return to Washington, Mr. Morrison reported his concerns to NSC lawyers John Eisenberg and Michael Ellis.904
Mr. Morrison testified that, in speaking to the NSC legal advisors, he wanted to ensure “that there was a record of what Ambassador Sondland was doing, to protect the President.”905 At this point, Mr. Morrison was not certain that the President had authorized Ambassador Sondland’s activities, but Mr. Morrison agreed that if the President had been aware of Ambassador Sondland’s activities, the effect could be to create a paper trail tha
t incriminated President Trump.906
Mr. Morrison also reported the conversation to Ambassador Taylor “because I wanted him to be in a position to advise the Ukrainians not to do it.”907 Ambassador Taylor said that he was “alarmed” to hear about the remarks to Mr. Yermak.908 He explained that “this was the first time that I had heard that the security assistance, not just the White House meeting, was conditioned on the investigations.”909 To Ambassador Taylor, “It’s one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It’s another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance…to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support.”910
President Trump Wanted President Zelensky in a “Public Box,” and Said “Everything” Depended on Announcing the Investigations
Upon hearing from Mr. Morrison about the conditionality of the military aid on Ukraine publicly announcing the two investigations, Ambassador Taylor sent a text message to Ambassador Sondland: “Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?” Ambassador Sondland responded, “Call me.”911
Ambassador Sondland confirmed over the phone to Ambassador Taylor that “everything”—the Oval Office meeting and the security assistance—was dependent on the Ukrainian government publicly announcing the political investigations President Trump requested on July 25. Informed by a review of contemporaneous notes that he took during his phone call, Ambassador Taylor testified:
During that phone call, Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelensky to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. Ambassador Sondland also told me that he now recognized that he had made a mistake by earlier telling Ukrainian officials that only a White House meeting with President Zelensky was dependent on a public announcement of the investigations. In fact, Ambassador Sondland said, everything was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance. He said that President Trump wanted President Zelensky in a public box, by making a public statement about ordering such investigations.912
By this point, Ambassador Taylor’s “clear understanding” was that President Trump would withhold security assistance until President Zelensky “committed to pursue the investigation.”913 He agreed that the U.S. position was “if they don’t do this,” referring to the investigations, “they are not going to get that,” referring to the security assistance.914 Ambassador Taylor also concurred with the statement that “if they don’t do this, they are not going to get that” was the literal definition of a quid pro quo.915
Ambassador Taylor testified that his contemporaneous notes of the phone call with Ambassador Sondland reflect that Ambassador Sondland used the phrase “public box” to describe President Trump’s desire to ensure that the initiation of his desired investigations was announced publicly.916 Ambassador Sondland, who did not take contemporaneous notes of any of his conversations, did not dispute that he used those words.917 He also testified that, when he spoke to Mr. Yermak, he believed that it would be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of President Trump and Mr. Giuliani if the new Ukrainian prosecutor general issued a statement about investigations, but his understanding soon changed.918
President Trump Informed Ambassador Sondland that President Zelensky Personally “Must Announce the Opening of the Investigations”
On September 7, Ambassador Sondland called Mr. Morrison to report that he had just concluded a call with President Trump. Mr. Morrison testified that Ambassador Sondland told him “that there was no quid pro quo, but President Zelensky must announce the opening of the investigations and he should want to do it.”919 This led Mr. Morrison to believe that a public announcement of investigations by the Ukrainian president—and not the prosecutor general—was a prerequisite for the release of the security assistance.920 He reported the conversation to Ambassador Bolton, who once again instructed him to “tell the lawyers,” which Mr. Morrison did.921
Later on September 7, Mr. Morrison relayed the substance of Ambassador Sondland’s conversation with President Trump to Ambassador Taylor. Ambassador Taylor explained:
I had a conversation with Mr. Morrison in which he described a phone conversation earlier that day between Ambassador Sondland and President Trump. Mr. Morrison said that he had a sinking feeling after learning about this conversation from Ambassador Sondland. According to Mr. Morrison, President Trump told Ambassador Sondland he was not asking for a quid pro quo, but President Trump did insist that President Zelensky go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference and that President Zelensky should want to do this himself. Mr. Morrison said that he told Ambassador Bolton and the NSC lawyers of this phone call between President Trump and Ambassador Sondland.922
The following day, on September 8, Ambassador Sondland texted Ambassadors Volker and Taylor: “Guys multiple convos with Ze, Potus. Lets talk.” Ambassador Taylor responded one minute later, “Now is fine with me.”923 On the phone, Ambassador Sondland “confirmed that he had talked to President Trump” and that “President Trump was adamant that President Zelensky himself had to clear things up and do it in public. President Trump said it was not a quid pro quo.”924 Ambassador Sondland also shared that he told President Zelensky and Mr. Yermak that, “although this was not a quid pro quo, if President Zelensky did not clear things up in public, we would be at a stalemate.”925
Ambassador Taylor testified that he understood “stalemate” to mean that “Ukraine would not receive the much-needed military assistance.”926 During his public testimony, Ambassador Sondland did not dispute Ambassador Taylor’s recollection of events and agreed that the term “stalemate” referred to the hold on U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.927
Although Ambassador Sondland otherwise could not independently recall any details about his September 7 conversation with President Trump, he testified that he had no reason to dispute the testimony from Ambassador Taylor or Mr. Morrison—which was based on their contemporaneous notes—regarding this conversation.928 Ambassador Sondland, however, did recall that President Zelensky agreed to make a public announcement about the investigations into Burisma and the Bidens and the 2016 election in an interview on CNN.”929
According to Ambassador Taylor, Ambassador Sondland explained that President Trump was a “businessman,” and that when “a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.”930 Ambassador Taylor was concerned that President Trump believed Ukraine “owed him something” in exchange for the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded U.S. security assistance.931 He argued to Ambassador Sondland that “the explanation made no sense. The Ukrainians did not owe President Trump anything. And holding up security assistance for domestic political gain was crazy.”932 Ambassador Sondland did not recall this exchange specifically, but did not dispute Ambassador Taylor’s testimony.933
Ambassador Taylor Texted Ambassador Sondland that “It’s Crazy to Withhold Security Assistance for Help with a Political Campaign”
Ambassador Taylor remained concerned by the President’s directive that “everything” was conditioned on President Zelensky publicly announcing the investigations. He also worried that, even if the Ukrainian leader did as President Trump required, the President might continue to withhold the vital U.S. security assistance in any event. Ambassador Taylor texted his concerns to Ambassadors Volker and Sondland stating: “The nightmare is they give the interview and don’t get the security assistance. The Russians love it. (And I quit.)”934
Ambassador Taylor testified:
“The nightmare” is the scenario where President Zelensky goes out in public, makes an announcement that he’s going to investigate the Burisma and the…interference in 2016 election, maybe among other things. He might put that in so
me series of investigations.
But…the nightmare was he would mention those two, take all the heat from that, get himself in big trouble in this country and probably in his country as well, and the security assistance would not be released. That was the nightmare.935
Early in the morning in Europe on September 9, Ambassador Taylor reiterated his concerns about the President’s “quid pro quo” in another series of text messages with Ambassadors Volker and Sondland:
Taylor:
The message to the Ukrainians (and Russians) we send with the decision on security assistance is key. With the hold, we have already shaken their faith in us. Thus my nightmare scenario.
Taylor:
Counting on you to be right about this interview, Gordon.
Sondland:
Bill, I never said I was “right”. I said we are where we are and believe we have identified the best pathway forward. Lets hope it works.
Taylor:
As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.936
By “help with a political campaign,” Ambassador Taylor was referring to President Trump’s 2020 reelection effort.937 Ambassador Taylor testified: “The investigation of Burisma and the Bidens was clearly identified by Mr. Giuliani in public for months as a way to get information on the two Bidens.”938
Ambassador Taylor framed the broader national security implications of President Trump’s decision to withhold vital security assistance from Ukraine. He said:
The Impeachment Report Page 22