House committee releases excerpts of impeachment inquiry interviews with the US ambassador to EU Sondland and former US envoy to Ukraine Volker
- Sondland says Ukraine Pro was condition for Trump meeting
- By early September he came to presume Ukraine 8 suspension was linked to request for anticorruption statement from Zelenskiy
- Sondland told Zeleskiy advisors that the resumption of US aid was not likely until Ukraine provided public anticorruption statement that US had sought
- he was aware of demands by Trump and Giuliani that Ukraine investigate 2016 election and Burisma
- He Tollhouse investigators that he heard 2nd or 3rd and that Trump wanted anything on the Bidens turned over to the US to be made public
Volker said:
- Ukrainian officials asked to be connected to Trump Attorney Giuliani as direct conduit to Trump
- Trump said Ukrainians tried to "take me down" in White House discussion with the ambassador Sondland, Volker and energy Sec. Perry
The markets are immune to the impeachment comments. Gold if anything reached to a new session low at $1479.20 but has bounced back to $1482.28. The SP is trading near unchanged. The Nasdaq remains higher by about 13 points.
