While Media Gushes Over Sondland Testimony, Volker’s Words Paint Completely Different Picture

The new, more public phase of the “formal impeachment inquiry” against Donald Trump has begun, and so far, there has been little to be found in the way of answers…only more questions.

The first headline to arrive after Tuesday’s document dump had to do with Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to Ukraine who was handpicked by Donald Trump himself.  Sondland originally testified that there was no quid pro quo in the case of American aide to Ukraine being held up in exchange for a politically advantageous investigation to take place.  The Ambassador has since rewritten parts of that testimony to reflect a different stance on the ultimatum, allowing the mainstream media to take what they believe is a victory lap on the quid pro quo requirement that they invented for impeachment.

A second piece of newly-published testimony, however, tells a different story.

Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker repeatedly denied that quid pro quo took place during the July 25 call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, transcripts released on Tuesday show.

“I didn’t think” a quid pro quo “was actually there,” Volker, the first impeachment inquiry witness, testified, referring to the call.

“I don’t think” Ukraine was “aware” that U.S. aid was being withheld “at the time” of the call, “so there was no leverage implied,” he added.

Volker testified that he believed that Ukraine did not become aware of the hold on U.S. aid until Politico published a story on the matter, based on leaked information, on August 28, more than a month after the July 25 call.

House Democrat impeachment investigators are trying to determine if Trump abused his power by allegedly pressuring Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, and claims of tampering in the 2016 elections during the July 25 call.

Neither US President Donald Trump nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believe that anything improper occurred during the phone call in question, leaving many Americans to wonder what on earth this entire impeachment debacle is about to begin with.