The testimony from Gordon Sondland has many believing this is the smoking gun needed to impeach President Trump.
The Democrats expected Gordon Sondland to be a key witness in the impeachment hearings but his actual words shook the political world today.
“This morning, his testimony seems to have changed significantly,” says David Takitaki, Ferris State University professor and coordinator of their Political Science program, “He’s blowing the lid off of that. He says, ‘no this is much bigger than you guys even thought,’ and this being much closer to like an administrative wide policy.”
As the Ambassador to the European Union, he says there was quid pro quo and the president commanded it all.
“He arrived in Congress with both emails and text messages that not only confirmed the idea that the Trump administration was pushing for this but he also implicated many different members of the Trump administration,” says Takitaki.
If this was a normal criminal case, the House’s decision to impeach the president would be like a prosecutor deciding to press charges. If he did, they pass that on to a trial with a judge and the jury which in this case is the Senate. Not many people expected the Senate to actually convict the President, given that it’s under Republican control, but with today’s details, things are starting to shift in some people’s minds.
“If there ends up being a number of Republicans senators sufficient for conviction,” says Takitaki, “Expect them to meet with the President before that time.”
The Senate would need 20 Republicans to vote for conviction. If the Democrats get that support, it would bring an end to the presidency and send ripples through the 2020 election.
“That’s why everyone is having the significant reaction to Gordon Sondland’s testimony,” says Takitaki.
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