Fox News anchor Bret Baier noted that Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s public testimony on Wednesday dealt a major blow to Republicans’ defense of President Donald Trump in the impeachment investigation.
“This, listen, on its face is very damaging to some of the arguments the GOP has been making,” Baier said during a brief break in the hearing. “I think it’s going to be fascinating to see in cross examination how they go.”
The Fox News anchor observed that Sondland is “cleaning up for Gordon Sondland rather than for President Trump.”
In his explosive testimony, Sondland directly tied Trump to the scheme to withhold military aid to Ukraine in an effort to strong-arm Ukraine into announcing an investigation into 2020 candidate Joe Biden.
“As a presidential appointee, I followed the directions of the President,” Gordland said in his opening statement. “We worked with Mr. Giuliani because the President directed us to do so.”
The ambassador also explicitly confirmed there was a quid pro quo between the Trump administration and Ukraine, effectively destroying Trump and his Republican allies’ refrain insisting there was absolutely no quid pro quo.
Watch Baier below:
Fox News host Bret Baier says Sondland’s testimony is “very damaging to some of the arguments the GOP has been making.” pic.twitter.com/M6SE2s8z74
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 20, 2019
