馃攳
Gordon Sondland鈥檚 Explosive Impeachment Testimony Implicates Trump: A Closer Look - YouTube
Channel: Late Night with Seth Meyers
[1]
-Today might have been
the most devastating day
[3]
of the Trump presidency so far.
[4]
A key witness to the Ukraine
scheme provided evidence
[7]
that there was a quid pro quo
[9]
and that it was ordered by
the President himself.
[11]
For more on this,
it's time for "A Closer Look."
[14]
[ Cheers and applause ]
[18]
Today we heard from Trump's
hand-picked ambassador
[20]
to the European Union,
a guy named Gordon Sondland.
[23]
Sondland's testimony was
explosive, shocking,
[25]
and jaw-dropping,
and if you don't believe me,
[27]
let's just fast-forward to
the moment when after Democrats
[30]
finish questioning Sondland,
[31]
the camera cut over to
GOP Congressman Devin Nunes.
[34]
-That concludes our 45 minutes.
[36]
I now recognize Mr. Nunes.
[39]
-Oh.
-Okay.
[40]
Why don't we take
a 5- or 10-minute break?
[42]
-Thank you.
[43]
-Man, look at his face.
[45]
[ Laughter ]
[46]
He looks like he just walked in
on his parents having sex
[50]
with someone else's parents.
[52]
[ Laughter ]
[54]
There's only two explanations
to that face.
[56]
Either he just heard
lengthy testimony
[57]
detailing a criminal scheme
so shocking it could bring down
[60]
the presidency of Donald Trump,
[61]
or he sharted
and he's trying to remember
[64]
how far away
his backup pants are.
[66]
[ Laughter ]
[67]
Sondland's testimony didn't just
go straight to President Trump
[70]
but also involved virtually
everybody at the highest levels
[73]
of the administration.
[74]
Sondland named every name
in the book.
[76]
-Secretary Perry,
Ambassador Volker,
[79]
Rudy Giuliani, Secretary Pompeo,
Brian McCormack,
[83]
Ms. Kenna,
Chief of Staff Mulvaney,
[86]
Rob Blair, Vice President Pence,
A$AP Rocky.
[89]
-He named A$AP Rocky!
[ Laughter ]
[94]
Sondland name-checked virtually
all of Trump's senior aides,
[96]
Vice President Mike Pence,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,
[99]
Energy Secretary Rick Perry,
Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney,
[102]
and Trump's lawyer,
Rudy Giuliani.
[104]
Even the White House janitor was
like, "Am I gonna go to jail?"
[107]
[ Laughter ]
[108]
In short,
today we learned yet again
[110]
that the entire Trump
White House
[111]
is basically
one giant criminal conspiracy.
[114]
This was like the "Wizard of Oz"
of impeachment testimony.
[117]
"You were there,
and you were there,
[119]
and you were there too, mate!
[120]
You were the scarecrow!"
[122]
[ Laughter ]
[123]
Now, before we get to the rest
of today's bombshell testimony,
[126]
it's important to provide
some context for why today
[129]
was the most shocking day
of testimony so far.
[131]
Throughout this
impeachment process,
[133]
we've been watching
the Republican argument
[135]
morph in real time,
[136]
which makes sense because Trump
always looks like he's morphing.
[138]
He looks like an animorph
[140]
who's halfway between
human and bobcat.
[142]
[ Laughter ]
[144]
For example, you'll recall
that Trump began by insisting
[146]
there was no quid pro quo
with Ukraine
[149]
and that his phone call
with the president of Ukraine,
[151]
in which Trump
literally said the words,
[153]
"I would like you to do us
a favor" was perfect.
[155]
But as the impeachment process
has proved,
[156]
it definitely was not perfect.
[158]
Republicans have changed
their argument.
[159]
For example, yesterday
two credible witnesses
[161]
who were on Trump's call
called it
[163]
unusual,
inappropriate, and improper.
[165]
And even a Republican witness,
[167]
a national security official
named Tim Morrison,
[169]
said straight up that Sondland
had told him
[172]
Trump was holding up the
aid to Ukraine in exchange for
[174]
a promise from Ukraine
to announce publicly
[177]
that they were investigating
Trump's political rivals.
[179]
-What did Ambassador Sondland
say to tell you
[182]
that he told Mr. Yermak?
[185]
-That the Ukrainians would have
to have the prosecutor general
[192]
make a statement with respect to
the investigations
[195]
as a condition
of having the aid lifted.
[197]
-There you go.
That's literally a quid pro quo.
[199]
Republicans actually thought
calling this guy as a witness
[202]
would be a good idea.
[203]
They thought he would help their
case, but he only made it worse.
[205]
It's like if you murdered a guy
[207]
and called his ghost
as your witness.
[209]
[ Laughter ]
[210]
"He's the one who killed me!"
[211]
"Damn it, ghost!"
[212]
[ Laughter ]
[213]
"I thought you were on my side!"
[ Laughter ]
[216]
So, after Tuesday's hearings,
[217]
Republicans decided to change
their argument again.
[220]
A house GOP aide described the
change of messaging this way.
[223]
It has gone from
"there is no quid pro quo"
[225]
"to there's a quid and quo
but not a pro,"
[227]
to "even if there was a quid pro
quo, it's not that bad.
[230]
This is just
how things are done.
[232]
You can say it's bad,
but it's not impeachable."
[234]
My God, look how much
their argument has changed.
[237]
This would be like if you got
pulled over and said,
[239]
"I wasn't speeding.
Okay, I was speeding.
[241]
Everyone speeds.
I was late for my job.
[243]
I work at the hospital.
So does my wife.
[244]
And she's having a baby,
and I was barely speeding.
[246]
Fine, I was really speeding
and my wife's not pregnant,
[248]
and I don't have a wife.
[249]
And also I'm drunk --
on cocaine."
[252]
[ Laughter ]
[254]
Which brings us
to today's hearing.
[256]
Remember Sondland,
hand-picked by Trump.
[258]
He's a businessman who donated
a million dollars
[260]
to Trump's inaugural committee
[262]
and he was a central figure
in Ukraine policy.
[264]
In fact, according to Morrison,
[265]
officials in
the Trump administration
[267]
even coined a term
for Gordon Sondland's role
[270]
in Ukraine policy.
[271]
-Among the discussions
I had with Dr. Hill
[273]
were about Ambassador Sondland.
[276]
I think she might have coined it
"the Gordon problem."
[279]
-That's what they called it,
"the Gordon problem?"
[281]
That sounds like a indie movie
about a single guy in his 40s
[284]
starring Ben Stiller.
[285]
[ Laughter ]
[287]
So today Sondland
had the chance to respond.
[289]
Again, Sondland, a key middleman
between Trump and Ukraine,
[292]
and he wrote down
what was happening
[294]
in several infamous
text messages,
[296]
and he started out his testimony
by stating
[298]
clearly and unequivocally
that everything they did,
[300]
they did at the direction
of the President himself.
[303]
-Secretary Perry,
Ambassador Volker, and I
[308]
worked with Mr. Rudy Giuliani
on Ukraine matters
[312]
at the express direction of the
President of the United States.
[316]
We followed
the President's orders.
[319]
We worked with Mr. Giuliani
because the President
[322]
directed us to do so.
[324]
-He literally said over and over
[325]
"the President
told us to do this."
[327]
And I believe it because no one
would work with Rudy Giuliani
[329]
unless they were ordered to.
[ Laughter ]
[331]
Working with Rudy is like when
your mom makes you hang out
[334]
with her friend's weird son.
[336]
"Why don't you take Rudy
to the mall with you?"
[338]
"Because he smells like onions
and he never stops screaming!"
[341]
After Sondland made clear
he carried out
[343]
the President's orders, he went
on to explain specifically
[346]
that what Rudy Giuliani wanted
was definitely a quid pro quo,
[349]
and that he did it specifically
[350]
because that's what
Trump wanted.
[352]
-Mr. Giuliani's request
were a quid pro quo
[356]
for arranging a White House
visit for President Zelensky.
[360]
Mr. Giuliani demanded that
Ukraine make a public statement
[365]
announcing the investigations
[367]
of the 2016 election DNC server
and Burisma.
[374]
Mr. Giuliani was
expressing the desires
[377]
of the President
of the United States,
[379]
and we knew these investigations
were important to the President.
[383]
-There it is. He just said it.
[385]
This was a quid pro quo, and it
definitely makes sense to me
[388]
that Rudy was expressing
the desires of the President.
[390]
Rudy looks like
the devil on Trump's shoulder
[393]
except Trump would never
need a devil.
[395]
"You should commit
quid pro quo."
[397]
"Way ahead of you, tiny devil!"
[399]
[ Laughter ]
[400]
Again Sondland made clear that
Trump had specifically directed
[404]
his administration,
people that actually work for
[406]
the U.S. government and get paid
with your taxpayer dollars
[408]
to orchestrate a quid pro quo
with Rudy Giuliani,
[410]
who has no official
government role.
[412]
And Sondland said
they were not happy about it.
[415]
-President Trump directed us
to "talk with Rudy."
[419]
We understood that
"talk with Rudy" meant
[422]
talk with Mr. Rudy Giuliani,
the President's personal lawyer.
[428]
Let me say again.
[430]
We weren't happy with
the President's directive
[433]
to "talk with Rudy."
[434]
-Of course they weren't happy.
[435]
No one is happy to talk to Rudy.
[ Laughter ]
[438]
If you get cornered by Rudy
at a party, your only option
[441]
is to pretend you're choking
[443]
and even then Rudy would only
make things worse.
[446]
"I know the Heimlich. Look!
I can do it on myself!"
[448]
[ Laughter ]
[450]
But this brings us
to a crucial point.
[451]
It wasn't just Trump and Rudy.
[453]
Sondland made it clear that
a number of high-level officials
[455]
in the Trump White House
[456]
and some people outside
the White House were aware of
[458]
what was happening
as it was happening.
[459]
Sondland said he had e-mails
to support his account,
[462]
and again, Sondland specifically
used the words "quid pro quo."
[465]
-These e-mails show that
the leadership
[468]
of the State Department,
the National Security Council,
[472]
and the White House
[473]
were all informed about
the Ukraine efforts.
[476]
I shared concerns of
the potential quid pro quo
[480]
regarding the security aid
with Senator Ron Johnson.
[483]
We kept the leadership of
the State Department and the NSC
[489]
informed of our activities.
[491]
And that included communications
with Secretary of State Pompeo.
[496]
They knew what we were doing
and why.
[499]
Everyone was in the loop.
[502]
Again, everyone was in the loop.
[505]
-Think about that. He just said
everyone was in the loop,
[508]
which makes clear once again
that these guys
[510]
are the worst criminals
in the world.
[512]
They orchestrated
an illicit scheme
[513]
to pressure a foreign country
[515]
to interfere in
a presidential election,
[516]
and they basically sent out
a staff-wide e-mail
[519]
CCing everyone.
[521]
Subject -- "Crimes."
"Hey, y'all, we're doing crimes.
[523]
Wanted to make sure
you all know about the crimes.
[525]
If you have questions
about the crimes,
[527]
please e-mail
[email protected]/crimes."
[531]
Sondland also said...
[ Laughter and applause ]
[536]
...he also said he reviewed
other State Department documents
[540]
that had been previously
not made public,
[541]
which must have scared the hell
out of Giuliani and Trump.
[544]
-I've reviewed other
State Department documents,
[547]
some of which are not currently
in the public domain,
[550]
detailing
Mr. Giuliani's efforts.
[553]
-The only part of that sentence
that shocks me
[555]
is they weren't in
the public domain.
[556]
Remember, Giuliani's already
done multiple TV interviews
[559]
where he literally held up
his phone and his iPad
[561]
to show off his communications
with Trump offi--
[563]
I mean, I'm shocked Rudy didn't
come sprinting into the hearing
[566]
with his phone in his hands,
screaming,
[568]
"He's right! I missed one!
It's right here!
[570]
I got a selfie of me in Ukraine
with a shirt that says
[572]
'I love quid pro quos!'"
[573]
[ Laughter ]
[575]
Sondland also provided
damning firsthand accounts
[578]
of his conversations with Trump
himself and had very specific
[581]
recollections of phone calls
he had with the President
[583]
where he asked him
what was going on.
[585]
-I thought it was a very bad
idea to hold that money.
[589]
I finally called the President.
[591]
I believe I just asked him
[592]
an open-ended question,
Mr. Chairman.
[595]
"What do you want from Ukraine?
[596]
I keep hearing all these
different ideas and theories
[599]
and this and that.
[600]
What do you want?"
[601]
And it was a very short,
abrupt conversation.
[605]
He was not in a good mood.
[607]
-That doesn't surprise me.
Trump's never in a good mood.
[610]
He only has two modes.
[611]
He's either screaming
at reporters
[612]
on the White House lawn
or glaring directly
[614]
into the camera like a burglar
caught on a doorbell camera.
[617]
I mean, look at him.
[619]
Compare his face to the face
Nunes is always making.
[622]
Nunes looks like a mailman
who just saw a Rottweiler
[625]
and Trump is the Rottweiler.
[627]
[ Laughter ]
[628]
Now, Sondland had multiple
conversations with Trump.
[631]
For example, you might remember
the infamous phone call
[633]
Sondland had with Trump in which
Trump was overheard asking
[636]
Sondland directly about
the investigations he wanted.
[639]
A State Department official who
was with Sondland at the time
[642]
also testified
that he overheard Sondland
[645]
tell Trump that
the President of Ukraine
[646]
would do anything for him
and that he "loves your ass."
[650]
And again, Sondland confirmed
[652]
that he did indeed
say that to Trump.
[654]
-He also testified that
you confirmed to President Trump
[658]
that you were in Ukraine
at the time
[662]
and that President Zelensky
"loves your ass."
[665]
Do you recall saying that?
[667]
-Yeah, it sounds like something
I would say.
[669]
[ Laughter ]
[672]
Putting it in Trump-speak
by saying he "loves your ass,
[675]
he'll do whatever you want"
[677]
meant that he would
really work with us.
[680]
-And that's the President
we got.
[682]
[ Laughter ]
I mean, the one who likes to
[684]
know how foreign leaders feel at
any given moment about his ass.
[688]
"Show them that picture of me
getting on the helicopter.
[690]
I think it looks really good
in that one."
[692]
[ Laughter ]
[693]
Now, today Trump responded to
Sondland's testimony
[696]
on his way to Texas
[697]
confirming that he spoke
to Sondland by phone.
[699]
But at first his account of that
call made no sense whatsoever.
[702]
-Just a quick comment on what's
going on in terms of testimony
[706]
with Ambassador Sondland,
and I just noticed one thing,
[711]
and I would say
that means it's all over.
[715]
"What do you want from Ukraine?"
he asks me.
[720]
Screaming, "What do you want
from Ukraine?
[724]
I keep hearing all these
different ideas and theories."
[727]
This is Ambassador Sondland
speaking to me.
[731]
Just happened, to which
I turned off the television.
[736]
"What do you want from Ukraine?
[738]
I keep hearing all of these
different ideas and theories.
[741]
What do you want?
What do you want?
[744]
It was a very short
and abrupt conversation
[747]
that he had with me.
[748]
They said he was not
in a good mood."
[751]
I'm always in a good mood.
I don't know what that is.
[754]
-First of all, that's the worst
audition for a school play
[757]
I've ever seen.
[ Laughter ]
[758]
"Just so you know,
I'm not off book."
[762]
Second, you're never
in a good mood.
[763]
You're literally screaming
right now.
[765]
You can't scream,
"I'm always in a good mood."
[768]
That's a sentence
that refutes itself.
[770]
That's like a librarian
screaming,
[771]
"Everyone keep your [bleep]
voices down!"
[773]
[ Laughter ]
[775]
Now, Trump went on to quote
Sondland's testimony.
[777]
Sondland said that after months
[778]
of following the President's
explicit orders to carry out
[780]
the quid pro quo
he and Rudy wanted,
[782]
he called Trump
to get a straight answer.
[783]
Now, to be clear, this call
happened after the whistleblower
[787]
wrote their report
and officials expressed concern
[790]
about what Trump was doing.
[791]
So Trump suddenly
changed his tune
[793]
and he told Sondland,
"Never mind.
[794]
Forget about all of
that quid pro quo stuff."
[797]
-It was a very short,
abrupt conversation.
[800]
He was not in a good mood.
[803]
And he just said,
"I want nothing. I want nothing.
[805]
I want no quid pro quo.
[807]
Tell Zelensky
to do the right thing,"
[809]
something to that effect.
[810]
This is the final word
that I heard from
[812]
the President
of the United States.
[814]
-So here's my answer.
[815]
I want nothing. I want nothing.
[817]
I want no quid pro quo.
[821]
Tell Zelensky
to do the right thing.
[824]
Then he says,
"This is the final word from
[827]
the President
of the United States."
[829]
-Yeah, but no, it's not.
[831]
You already got caught.
[832]
That doesn't make you
sound innocent.
[834]
That sounds like the way
a criminal talks
[836]
when he thinks
his phone is tapped.
[839]
"I want nothing,
certainly not a quid pro quo
[841]
since that would be illegal.
[843]
And now I'm off to church
because I'm a good boy."
[847]
[ Laughter and applause ]
[851]
But if you're looking for
one single image
[853]
to capture everything
that happened today,
[855]
I direct you to this photo of
[856]
Sondland looking directly
into the camera
[858]
during a break in the hearing.
[860]
Damn, I mean,
he smelt it and dealt it.
[863]
[ Laughter ]
[865]
He looks like he's
in the opening credits
[867]
of "The Real Housewives."
[869]
[ Laughter ]
[870]
"My name is Gordon.
[872]
I may not quid or quo,
but I'm definitely a pro."
[875]
[ Laughter ]
[876]
Seriously, he looks like he just
threw a match on a building
[879]
soaked in gasoline.
[880]
[ Laughter ]
[881]
Today was certainly
the most devastating day
[883]
in the impeachment process
so far,
[885]
and perhaps
the most devastating day
[886]
in the Trump presidency,
[887]
a key witness to
the corrupt quid pro quo
[889]
said he was following the orders
of the President
[891]
and named several
senior officials
[892]
who also knew about the scheme
[894]
and the Republican defense
crumbled before our eyes.
[896]
This is it.
[897]
If Republicans had any integrity
at all,
[898]
they'd look at the evidence
and tell Trump...
[901]
-That means it's all over.
[902]
-This has been "A Closer Look."
Most Recent Videos:
You can go back to the homepage right here: Homepage