Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/99

 announcing the investigations, stating: "I think it's possible to make this declaration and mention all these things. Which we discussed yesterday. But it will be logic [sic] to do after we receive a confirmation of date. We inform about date of visit and about our expectations and our guarantees for future visit." Ambassador Volker replied: "Let's iron out statement and use that to get date and then PreZ [Zelensky] can go forward with it?" President Zelensky's aide responded, "[o]nce we have a date, will call for a press briefing, announcing upcoming visit and outlining vision for the reboot of USUKRAINE relationship, including among other things Burisma and election meddling in investigations." The day after that, Ambassador Sondland emailed Secretary of State Pompeo: "Kurt & I negotiated a statement from Ze [Zelensky] to be delivered for our review in a day or two. The contents will hopefully make the boss [i.e., President Trump] happy enough to authorize an invitation."

Based on this and other evidence, it is clear that Ambassador Sondland spoke truthfully when he stated: "Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes."

By making military and security assistance and a White House meeting conditional on announcing investigations that would benefit him politically, President Trump used official power to pressure Ukraine to make those announcements. Ukraine is at war with Russia and more than 13,000 Ukrainians have died in that conflict. Ukraine relies heavily on the United States for military and security assistance and support on the global stage. But as Ambassador Taylor described in his deposition, Ukraine is also "a young nation struggling to break free of its past, hopeful their new government will finally usher in a new Ukraine, proud of independence from Russia eager to join Western institutions and enjoy a more secure and prosperous life." That is why, for weeks, Ukrainian officials expressed concern about President Trump's demands, advising United States officials that they did not want to be an "instrument in Washington domestic, reelection politics." As Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka stated, in an apparent reference to President Trump's demand for Ukrainian interference in United States elections, "[i]t's critically important for the west not to pull us into some conflicts between their ruling elites, but to continue to support so that we can cross the