The no quid pro call that Trump is using in his defense never happened. Instead, there was a call where Trump laid out his specific demands to Zelensky.
Just Security put together the proof from witness testimony and depositions:
At the heart of the impeachment inquiry, members of Congress may have been mistakenly led to believe that there were two phone calls between President Donald Trump and Ambassador Gordon Sondland in early September—with the second call having the possibility of helping the President’s case. That’s not what happened. There was only one call, and it was highly incriminating.
The call occurred on September 7th. In this call, Trump did say there was “no quid pro quo†with Ukraine, but he then went on to outline his preconditions for releasing the security assistance and granting a White House visit. The call was so alarming that when John Bolton learned of it, he ordered his’ deputy Tim Morrison to immediately report it to the National Security Council lawyers.
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The entire analysis deserves a full read because it lays out what really happened. There was no quid pro quo call. There was only a call where Trump laid out exactly what he wanted from Zelensky in exchange for the military aid being released.
Trump is out of defenses. The evidence is there in plain sight of the president trying to extort a foreign country into investigating the Bidens.
Trump did it. He is guilty, and even if the Senate doesn’t convict him, voters can render their verdict in November.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
