As part of their impeachment efforts, House Democrats called State Department official William Taylor two weeks ago to testify in a closed-door hearing. It didn’t go well for them.
Taylor served as the charge d’affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and transcripts of his testimony have now been released.
They show that not only was he not on President Trump’s July telephone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, he didn’t even see the readout until it was declassified.
“And this isn’t firsthand.”
“I did not see any official readout of the call until it was publicly released on September 25th,” he said.
So while Taylor claimed to have a “clear understanding” that security assistance was predicated on Zelensky investigating Joe and Hunter Biden, this understanding wasn’t based on anything he personally heard. Rather, he depended on others to relay the information.
“And this isn’t firsthand. It’s not secondhand. It’s not thirdhand,” Rep. Lee Zeldin pointed out to Taylor. “But if I understand this correctly, you’re telling us that Tim Morrison told you that Ambassador Sondland told him that the president told Ambassador Sondland that Zelensky would have to open an investigation into Biden?”
Taylor admitted that was true, and when asked whether he had “any other source that the president’s goal in making this request was anything other than The New York Times,” the official said he didn’t. What’s more, Taylor had no contact with either the president or Rudy Giuliani.
Rep. John Ratcliffe attacked the idea of a quid pro quo by noting how Ukraine’s government wasn’t even aware that a hold had been put on military aid.
“So, if nobody in the Ukrainian government is aware of a military hold at the time of the Trump-Zelensky call, then, as a matter of law and as a matter of fact, there can be no quid pro quo, based on military aid,” Ratcliffe asserted. “I just want to be real clear that, again, as of July 25th, you have no knowledge of a quid pro quo involving military aid.”
“July 25th is a week after the hold was put on the security assistance,” Taylor replied. “And July 25th, they had a conversation between the two presidents, where it was not discussed.”
“And to your knowledge,” Ratcliffe continued, “nobody in the Ukrainian government was aware of the hold?”
“That is correct,” Taylor conceded.
996 Responses
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
I’m not sure why but this website is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
Hello there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Right here is the right webpage for anybody who wishes to find out about this topic. You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic that has been discussed for many years. Excellent stuff, just great!
Bardzo interesujący temat, dzięki za wysłanie wiadomości tlen inhalacyjny w puszcze.
Bardzo interesujący temat, dziękuję za wysłanie wiadomości tlen medyczny z maską.
I appreciate you sharing this post.Thanks Again. Cool.
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely believe that this amazing site needs far more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the advice!
I need to to thank you for this great read!! I certainly loved every little bit of it. I have got you book marked to look at new things you post…
Can I simply just say what a comfort to find someone that really knows what they are talking about on the web. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people must read this and understand this side of your story. It’s surprising you are not more popular because you certainly have the gift.
Hello there! This blog post couldn’t be written much better! Reading through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept preaching about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a great read. Thanks for sharing!
You need to take part in a contest for one of the most useful blogs on the internet. I am going to highly recommend this blog!
Really informative post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
This is a good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
I could not resist commenting. Perfectly written!
I’m still learning from you, as I’m making my way to the top as well. I definitely love reading all that is written on your website.Keep the aarticles coming. I enjoyed it!
Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored at work so I decided to browse your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, very good blog!
When I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
This is a topic which is close to my heart… Cheers! Where are your contact details though?
Fantastic post.Really thank you!
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Cheers! Exactly where are your contact details though?
I’m also commenting to let you be aware of what a magnificent discovery my cousin’s girl enjoyed browsing the blog. She noticed lots of pieces, which include how it is like to possess a great giving character to make many people completely know chosen hard to do issues. You undoubtedly exceeded her expectations. Many thanks for producing the important, safe, edifying and also unique tips about the topic to Sandra.
Good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later!
Good info. Lucky me I discovered your blog by accident (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later!
Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m going to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
I am curious to find out what blog system you are utilizing? I’m having some small security problems with my latest site and I would like to find something more risk-free. Do you have any suggestions?
This is a topic which is close to my heart… Cheers! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and never seem to get nearly anything done.
Im grateful for the blog article.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
I really love your blog.. Excellent colors & theme. Did you develop this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m attempting to create my very own site and want to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Cheers!
You have made some decent points there. I looked on the internet to find out more about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.
Great blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find high-quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! Take care!!
There’s definately a great deal to know about this issue. I love all of the points you’ve made.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article! It’s the little changes that produce the largest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
Muchos Gracias for your post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Thanks again for the blog article.Much thanks again. Want more.
Right here is the right web site for anybody who hopes to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject that’s been written about for ages. Great stuff, just excellent!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Exceptionally well written!
I loved your blog post.Really thank you! Really Great.
wow, awesome article post.Much thanks again.