Welcome to Thursday, November 21st, prime and odd numbers...

When it Ukraines, it pours.

Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland testified Wednesday that a Ukraine quid pro quo "reflected Trump's desires and requirements."

Sondland told the House Intelligence Committee that Trump conditioned a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladomyr Zelensky on "a public statement from President Zelensky committing to investigations of Burisma and the 2016 election."

Sondland testified that Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, "expressed those requests directly to the Ukrainians. Mr. Giuliani also expressed those requests directly to us. We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and White House meeting reflected President Trump's desires and requirements."

“Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’” Sondland said in his opening remarks. “The answer is yes.”

However, in an exchange the GOP is likely to return to, Sondland testified:

"President Trump never told me directly that aid was conditioned on the meetings."

Read other key quotes from the hearing, then tell your reps:

Do you support the impeachment of President Trump?

On the Radar

Debating Dems

Ten Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in Atlanta Wednesday night, hours after the explosive impeachment hearing where Sondland admitted there was a quid pro quo.

Impeachment opened the debate, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned that the (D)s shouldn't be "consumed" by President Trump.

"The American Congress can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time," Sanders said.

But can voters?

Here are a few of the key quotes of the night:

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on diplomacy: “Unlike Trump, I will not do it through a tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. I will do it working with the international community.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: "If you think a woman can't beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day."

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker: "Black voters are pissed off” about politicians who appeal to them only when they need votes.

Read all the quotes here, then join the conversation:

What do you think of the 2020 Democratic contenders?

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Under the Radar

Inspecting the Inspectors

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced Monday that his committee will receive testimony from Dept. of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Wednesday, December 11th regarding the IG’s investigation of alleged surveillance abuses by the DOJ & FBI against the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

Horowitz sent a letter to Congress on October 24th, notifying them that his work on the report is “ongoing and nearing completion”, and that he doesn’t “anticipate a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions of the report.”

It’s unclear at the moment whether the report will be released as soon as it completes the declassification process or if it will be released in conjunction with the December 11th hearing.

The IG is investigating the process used by the DOJ & FBI to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants for surveillance of a “certain U.S. person” which is reportedly a reference to former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. The counterintelligence operation involving Page’s surveillance led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, which the special counsel found no evidence of in his report.

Do you want to see the IG's report & hear testimony on alleged 2016 surveillance abuses?

What You're Saying

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