Ken Starr, who authored the report that led to President Clinton’s impeachment, said today on Fox News that Gordon Sondland’s impeachment testimony “doesn’t look good for the president, substantively.”
The former independent counsel and federal judge added that “it was one of those bombshell days” because it all but confirmed that “there will be articles of impeachment” drawn up against President Trump.
In his opening statement, European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland said that he worked with Rudy Giuliani “at the express direction” of President Trump on matters involving Ukraine.
Sondland also confirmed that a quid pro quo preconditioning a White House meeting in exchange for an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings in Ukraine took place and “reflected Trump’s desires and requirements.”
Starr agreed with the hosts that things now do not “look good for the president substantively.”
Sondland’s testimony, Starr said, confirmed that there was a quid pro quo between Trump’s administration and the Ukrainian government — which would be “bribery,” in the jargon of impeachment.
Sondland also said that the orders to push Kyiv to open an investigation into Trump’s political rivals had come directly from the Oval Office.
Starr focused specifically on the question of Trump’s alleged contempt, noting that Sondland had spoken “vehemently and bitterly about his lack of access to records to help him.”
Starr also wondered if the senate will nudge Trump to resign.
“The real issue is if senators are watching,” said Starr. “Are senators going to now say in light of what we hear today, ‘We need to make a trip down to the White House’? That historic example set during the Nixon presidency.”
Additionally, the Democrats’ line of questioning made clear that Sondland’s attempts to refresh his memory for the testimony had been denied by the administration, which could build the Democrats’ case for obstruction.
“There will be articles of impeachment,” Starr said. “I think we’ve known that, it was just confirmed today. Substantively, what we heard from the chairman just now is: It’s over. We now know — this is his position — we now know that the president in fact committed the crime of bribery.”
Ken Starr on Fox News: “It doesn’t look good for the president, substantively.” pic.twitter.com/kDBdx0DapS
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 20, 2019