Donald Trump Public Impeachment Hearing: Game Is Almost Over For US President

The fourth day of public impeachment hearings against U.S. President Donald Trump continued with Defense Department official Laura Cooper and State Department official David Hale testifying about Trump’s potential abuse of power. Here are the key takeaways from the fourth round of public impeachment hearings:

Gordon Sondland: “We followed the president’s orders.”

Contrary to Trump’s claim that he was clueless about the investigations of Joe Biden and the 2016 election tampering, European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland claimed it was actually he who directed his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to get things moving. “We followed the president’s orders,” he said.

Gordon Sondland: “Yes, there’s a quid pro quo.”

Sondland also testified that the U.S. had a quid pro quo with Ukraine, and it was Trump who pulled the strings. Asked if there was a quid pro quo, Sondland straightforwardly affirmed. “As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes,” he said.

Donald Trump was fuming

As he boarded his helicopter, a furious Trump entertained some reporters and maintained he was innocent. Wielding handwritten notes and screaming over the sound of whirring rotors, he told the reporters that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine. “I want nothing,” he said. “I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo,” he said. It turned out that he was actually reading from his notes, written in all caps using a black Sharpie marker. The media was able to document the notes.

Republicans threatened Gordon Sondland

Sondland’s testimony caught the Republicans off-guard that they did not know how to cross-examine him after he gave his testimony. Funny enough, Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the committee, warned Sondland before he testified, insinuating that he would regret his decision to testify against the U.S. president. “You are here to be smeared,” he said.

Donald Trump’s impeachment is just around the corner

After the fourth day of the public impeachment hearings, almost everyone—the Republicans included—could not help but think that impeachment was already looming for Donald Trump. Kenneth Starr, the prosecutor in the Bill Clinton impeachment, said he believes the articles of impeachment are now being drawn up to end Trump’s presidency. “We now know that the president, in fact, committed the crime of bribery,” he said.