Top diplomat in Ukraine directly ties Trump to quid pro quo
The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told House impeachment investigators last month that President Donald Trump directed officials to tie military aid to Ukraine to demands that the country open political advantageous probes, according to a transcript of his testimony made public Wednesday.
The transcript of Taylor's closed-door testimony before the three House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump — the latest in a series of witness transcripts made public — confirms NBC News' reporting about his more than nine hours of testimony last month. It also contains new details about the language he used in describing the White House's attempted quid pro quo with Ukraine that shed light on his level of concern about the matter.
For example, Taylor said he and others "sat in astonishment" as a White House Office of Management and Budget official said during a July 18 inter-agency call that Trump had ordered a hold on military assistance to Ukraine, according to the transcript.
As NBC News reported in October after he first testified, Taylor stated in plain and clear language that he felt the military aid to Ukraine had been directly tied to Ukraine opening investigations into the Burisma energy company — the Ukrainian gas company whose board of directors Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden joined in 2014 — as well as a conspiracy theory about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/top-diplomat-in-ukraine-directly-ties-trump-to-quid-pro-quo/ar-AAJXs9b?li=BBnb7Kz
