No Record Found of Trump’s ‘No Quid Pro Quo’ Call With Sondland: WaPo
WHERE’S THE PROOF?
Drew Angerer/Getty
The White House has not found a record of the Sept. 9 phone call recounted by U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in which he testified that President Trump told him he wanted “no quid pro quo” with Ukraine, The Washington Post reports. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an administration official told the Post that such a call could not be found on White House switchboard logs on that date, and no other witness testimony or records have emerged to corroborate the call. Trump has touted Sondland's recollection of the conversation as a crucial part of his defense, claiming it clears him of any wrongdoing in the impeachment inquiry. “This is Ambassador Sondland speaking to me,” Trump told reporters last week. “Here’s my response that he just gave: ‘I want nothing... I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.’”
Witnesses in the impeachment inquiry testified that a Sept. 7 call between Trump and Sondland consisted of Trump telling the ambassador that he didn't want a “quid pro quo”—but he wanted the Ukrainian president to publicly announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. Sondland's attorney, Robert Luskin, declined to comment about the calls.