Why the Gordon Sondland testimony won’t change much

Published November 20, 2019 7:12pm ET



Don’t get overexcited by media coverage, which suggests U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s testimony on Wednesday is a game changer. If and until President Trump’s poll numbers plummet to a level far below their present levels in swing states, the vast majority of GOP members of Congress will remain supportive of him.

Sondland’s testimony likely should be a game changer. By his own admission, Sondland was front and center in the White House’s dealings with Ukraine. And Sondland on Wednesday said it was “no secret” among top administration officials that Trump orchestrated “a quid pro quo” to make White House meetings and, he assumed, aid contingent upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s agreement to announce an investigation of the Bidens. Sondland helped further these efforts, he said, “because the president directed us to do so.”

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