By Denny Gulino
THE WHITE HOUSE (MaceNews) – President Trump late Wednesday morning was shouting even louder than what’s necessary to be heard above the whine of the idling Marine One helicopter nearby, reading from notes of Ambassador Sondland’s testimony, the part where he told his diplomat, “I want nothing. I want nothing, no quid pro quo.”
Trump was nearly an hour late for takeoff and had been watching Sondland on TV. The ambassador had declared several times he did understand well and so did his State Department colleagues that there was a quid pro quo and that Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney were “in the loop.”
Sondland said he did not hear from Trump directly that there was a quid pro quo and that the president, in fact, did tell him there was not to be a quid pro quo.
The president picked out that part in which he had told Sondland directly, “I want nothing” from Ukraine. Trump repeated that many times.
“I don’t know him very well. I haven’t spoken to him. He might be a nice guy. “I want nothing, I want nothing, I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo,” Trump quoted Sondand quoting him.
And again, “This is the final word from the president of the United started. I want nothing,” Trump said.
There were shouted questions about the rest of Sondland’s testimony, about Rudy Giuliani’s explicit instructions about what was being required from Ukraine in order to get a meeting with Trump and the delivery of military aid. Those questions were ignored.
Trump also briefly mentioned, about his trip to Texas to meet with Apple chief Tim Cook at a manufacturing facility, that he’s been asking Cook to build Apple facilities in the U.S..
He also touted the economy as doing “unbelievably well” and said China “wants to make a deal” on trade. “The question is do I want to make a deal,” he repeated.
A seemingly angry scowl on his face, Trump finally turned and walked away, having taken no questions, headed for Austin, Texas.
On TV, the House Intelligence Committee session, which had been in temporary recess, resumed.
Meanwhile Pence’s office issued a statement. “The Vice President never had a conversation with Gordon Sondland about investigating the Bidens, Burisma, or the conditional release of financial aid to Ukraine based upon potential investigations.”
This story was updated to make clear Sondland did not claim Trump told him directly about any quid pro quo.
Reach this reporter at: denny@macenews.com–