Bill Taylor’s testimony has been released and you can read the 324 pages below, but be sure to read pp. 119 and 120.
Taylor, the ChargĂ© d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, is Adam Schiff’s star witness and was interviewed by Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-TX) on the pages mentioned. That’s where the congressman killed the quid pro quo narrative.
Mr. Taylor assumed quite a lot and whined about it, but he didn’t have the goods.
THE RATCLIFFE EXCHANGE
“It sounds like from your statement today, that you were aware of the [military] hold and troubled by it but that President Zelensky was not aware of it at that point in time,” Ratcliffe said to Bill Taylor.
“That is correct,” Taylor responded.
Ratcliffe continued, “So, if nobody in the Ukrainian Government is aware of a military hold at the time of the Trump-Zelensky call, then as a matter of law and as a matter of fact, there can be no quid pro quo, based on military aid. I just want to be real clear that, again, as of July 25th, you have no knowledge of a quid pro quo involving military aid.”
Rep. Ratcliffe again asked Bill Taylor, “And to your knowledge, nobody in the Ukrainian Government was aware of the hold?”
Ambassador Taylor replied, “That is correct.”
NO PRESSURE, NO THOUGHT CRIMES
The President might have had some inappropriate instincts, but he didn’t act on them. You can’t convict people for thought crimes in the USA.
There was no pressure and no quid pro quo. The transcript fully confirms that statement as does all the testimony so far.
William Taylor testimony on… by Johannah Winter on Scribd
Rep. Meadows also pointed that out:
While some repeat talking points about Ambassador Taylor’s guesses and assumptions, read this simple section from John Ratcliffe. It destroys the quid pro quo narrative.
Ukraine wasn’t aware of a military hold during the 7/25 Trump-Zelensky call. You can’t have a quid pro quo. pic.twitter.com/vOOcOnMRHL
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) November 6, 2019
There is confirmation from the Volker testimony:
I asked Volker: And in no way, shape, or form in either the readouts from the United States or Ukraine did you receive any indication whatsoever for anything that resembles a quid pro quo?
Volker: Correct pic.twitter.com/vdmJnSWPyo
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) November 5, 2019
Then there’s this:
Here’s Ambassador Taylor testifying that Ukraine was not aware of a hold on military aid until the end of August, over one month after @realDonaldTrump’s call with President Zelensky → pic.twitter.com/BcIEt9No7m
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) November 6, 2019
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