Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) shut down the Democrats’ case for impeaching President Donald Trump at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday with one direct “yes or no” question to Gordon Sondland, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union.
Turner called out Sondland for presuming the facts instead of knowing the facts as to whether President Trump had tried to get a quid pro quo from the Ukrainian president by making U.S. military aid conditional to the promise of an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and the latter’s dealings with the Ukrainian oil giant Burisma.
“Answer the question,” Turner said. “Is it correct no one on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying this aid to the investigations?”
“Because if your answer is yes, then the chairman is wrong and the headline on CNN is wrong,” Turner said. “No one on this planet told you that President Trump was tying aid to investigations, yes or no?”
“Yes,” Sondland said.
“So you really have no testimony today that ties President Trump to a scheme to withold aid from Ukraine in exchange for thee investigations?” Turner asked.
“Other than my own presumption,” Sondland said.
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