POOL
Washington, DC - 19 November 2019
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:
"I believe I just asked him an open ended question, Mr. Chairman, 'What do you want from Ukraine? I keep hearing all these different ideas and theories and this and that. What do you want?' And it was a very short, abrupt conversation. He was not in a good mood. And he just said, 'I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelenskiy to do the right thing.' Something to that effect."
++WHITE FLASH++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:
"And you don't recall the specifics of holding your phone outside, far away from your ear, as Mr. Holmes testified. But you have no reason to question his recollection of that, do you?"
3.SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:
"I mean, it seems a little strange. I would hold my phone here. I probably had my phone close to my ear. And he claims to have overheard part of the conversation. And I'm not going to dispute what he did or didn't hear."
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:
"Well, he also testified that you confirmed to President Trump that you were in Ukraine at the time and that President Zelenskiy, quote, loves your ass, unquote. Do you recall saying that?"
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:
"It sounds like something I would say...that's how President Trump and I communicate a lot of four letter words in this case, three letters."
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:
"Holmes then said that he heard President Trump ask, quote, Is he meaning Zelenskiy going to do the investigation? To which you replied 'He's going to do it', and then you added the President Zelenskiy will do anything that you meaning President Trump ask him to. Do you recall that?"
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:
"I probably said something to that effect because I remember the meeting, the president, President Zelenskiy was very, solicitous is not a good word. He was just very willing to work with the United States and was being very amicable and so putting it in Trump's speak by saying he loves your ass, he'll do whatever you want, meant that he would really work with us on a whole host of issues."