The key event in Sondland’s narrative is a 23 May White House meeting with Trump attended by Sondland, the former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker and the energy secretary, Rick Perry. The three had just returned from Zelenskiy’s inauguration and were trying to persuade Trump to have a telephone conversation with his new Ukrainian counterpart and invite him to the White House, as a mark of US support.
“However, President Trump was skeptical that Ukraine was serious about reforms and anti-corruption, and he directed those of us present at the meeting to talk to Mr Giuliani, his personal attorney, about his concerns,” Sondland said. “It was apparent to all of us that the key to changing the president’s mind on Ukraine was Mr Giuliani.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/17/gordon-sondland-testimony-trump-giuliani-ukraine— After briefing Trump on the Zelenskiy inauguration, Perry, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, and Kurt Volker, the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, became known as the “three amigos.” They were responsible for a side-channel Ukraine policy, under Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer. Giuliani, at Trump’s behest, pushed for Kiev to investigate Biden, the former vice president and a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination next year, and his son Hunter, who was on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, but it is uncertain what Perry knew about it.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-perry-factbox/factbox-why-does-rick-perrys-name-keep-coming-up-in-trump-impeachment-probe-idUSKBN1XG2Y1In his testimony, Sondland described what is now a familiar set of facts. On May 20, he attended the inauguration of Zelensky as part of an American delegation that included Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Alex Vindman, a Ukraine expert at the National Security Council. They all came away believing Zelensky was a swell fellow and that Washington should move quickly to strengthen its relationship with him. Three days later, they briefed Trump and suggested that he first hold a phone conversation with Zelensky and then a White House visit with the Ukrainian—moves that the Ukrainians deeply desired. (After all, Ukraine was—and still is—engaged in a war with Russia, which has seized portions of the country, and buttressing the bonds between Ukraine and the United States was a top priority for Kiev.) Trump, though, was not eager for this, Sondland testified. “He just kept saying: ‘Talk to Rudy, talk to Rudy,'” Sondland said.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/11/gordon-sondland-fingers-rudy-giuliani-as-trumps-ukraine-shakedown-man/He could have talked to a Republican senator, or an NSC expert on Ukraine. But instead he wanted to hear from Perry, Volker and Sondland - "someone he barely knew"? Who was the EU ambassador, rather than a Ukraine specialist? Give me a break.
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