Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/129

 product, conjugal visits for a prison inmate, confidential government files about informants, information about the location of a witness, a promise of future employment, a promise to contact a public official, "the amount of a confidential, competitive bid" for a government contract, copies of grand jury transcripts provided to the target of an investigation, and the testimony of a witness at a criminal trial.

In this case, President Trump indisputably placed a subjective personal value on the announcement of investigations that he solicited from President Zelensky. The announcement of an investigation into President Trump's political rival would redound to President Trump's personal benefit; and the announcement of an investigation into purported Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election would vindicate the President's frequent denials that he benefitted from Russia's assistance. Mr. Giuliani recognized as much many times as he pursued his client's own interests in Ukraine. Furthermore, Ambassador Sondland and others testified that President Trump's true priority was the public announcement of these investigations more than the investigations themselves. This fact makes clear that "the goal was not the investigations, but the political benefit [President] Trump would derive from their announcement and the cloud they might put over a political opponent." The