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Top American diplomat in Ukraine gave a closed-door testimony Tuesday in which he described “in remarkable detail” the presence of an American quid pro quo campaign against Ukraine

According to The New York Times, the United States’ top American diplomat in Ukraine gave a closed-door testimony Tuesday in which he described “in remarkable detail” the presence of an American quid pro quo campaign against Ukraine. The envoy, Mr. William B. Taylor Jr., told congressional investigators that President Trump threatened the entire United States relationship with Ukraine, including a $391 million aid package and a meeting with the President, unless the country specifically publicly investigated former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. Mr. Taylor often referred to notes and memos during his testimony, including a June 30 conversation he had with the Ukrainian president that may be further investigated by House Democrats. ~

Mr. Taylor’s testimony significantly escalates tensions in the impeachment inquiry against the President. The whistleblower complaint filed anonymously last month brought attention to a phone call President Trump had with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July. The complaint, which became public late last month, speculated whether the President explicitly pressured Ukraine’s president into investigating Joe and Hunter Biden, and whether he used $391 million of military aid as leverage. Although the summarized transcript of the phone conversation released by the Trump administration appeared to show that the President specifically spoke about the possibility of Ukraine investigating Joe Biden, it does not appear as though Trump discussed military aid in any form during the call. New reports by the Washington Post also brought into question the presence of a quid pro quo, reporting that an unnamed Ukrainian official claimed that Kiev “was not made aware that the U.S. suspended security funds until a month after President Trump’s call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.” According to NBC earlier this month, however, State Department text messages with Ukraine may have provided evidence that US ambassadors pushed Ukraine officials to investigate certain offenses of corruption as a condition to visiting the White House, yet it is unclear whether the push was directly targeted at investigating Biden. ~

Mr. Taylor reportedly described during his testimony Tuesday a conversation he had with the United States ambassador to the European Union Gordon D. Sondland, in which Mr. Sondland told him there was no quid pro quo. Quoting Sondland, Mr Taylor testified, “When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, he said, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.” President Trump publicly denounced the testimony Tuesday before the testimony occurred, stating on Twitter, “So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!” ~

This is Fact Based America – WE have the FACTS. YOU have the OPINIONS. What are your thoughts on this latest development in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump?

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