Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Democrat of New York, was apparently tired of Gordon Sondland’s games in the sharpest questioning he’s yet faced from Democratic members of the House in the impeachment hearings into Donald Trump, after repeated back-and-forth in which Maloney was attempting to elicit a simple answer to a simple question.
"Who would benefit from an investigation of the Bidens?" Maloney asked repeatedly.
"I assume President Trump would benefit," Sondland eventually answered.
"There we have it!" Maloney replied. "Didn’t hurt a bit, did it?" Sondland tried to put on an indignant front, saying that he has been very forthright and “resents” the implication that he’s not been forthcoming in his interactions with the committee.
Mistake. Maloney pounced. “Fair enough, you’ve been very forthright. This is your third try to do so, sir. Didn’t work so well the first time, did it? We had a little declaration come in after, you remember that? And now we’re here a third time, and we got a doozy of a statement from you, there’s a whole bunch of stuff you don’t recall. So all due respect, sir, we appreciate your candor, but let’s be really clear what it took to get it out of you."
Maloney: Who would benefit from an investigation of the Bidens?
Sondland: I assume President Trump would benefit.
Maloney: There we have it. See. Didn't hurt a bit, did it? Didn't hurt a bit. But, let me ask you something.
Sondland: Mr. Maloney, excuse me, I have been very forthright and I really resent what you are trying to do.
Maloney: Fair enough, you’ve been very forthright. This is your third try to do so, sir. Didn’t work so well the first time, did it? We had a little declaration come in after, you remember that? And now we are here a third time and we have a doozy of a statement from you this morning. There's a bunch of stuff you do not recall. All due respect, we appreciate your candor, but let's be clear on what it took to get it out of you.
So, my question is, when the president is putting pressure on the Ukrainians, withholding a meeting to get this investigation that you and I agree would benefit him politically, what kind of position does that put the Ukrainians in, sir?
Sondland: A terrible position.
Maloney: A terrible position, why?
Sondland: Why does it put them in a terrible position? [...] Well, obviously they are not receiving ultimately what they thought was coming to them. And they are put in a position that jeopardizes their security.
Maloney: A position that jeopardizes their security, and they are being asked to do an investigation to help their security, essentially, that would benefit the president politically. In other words, you might say they are being asked to give him a personal benefit in exchange for an official act. Is that a fair summary.
Sondland: In your hypothetical, that’s correct.
Maloney: It's not a hypothetical, sir, this is real life. Were they asked to give him a personal benefit in exchange for an official act?