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Second Week of Impeachment Testimony Ends with More Damning Evidence: A Closer Look
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Second Week of Impeachment Testimony Ends with More Damning Evidence: A Closer Look

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-Last night 10 candidates faced off in
the fifth Democratic debate. From the beginning
of the debate, substantive policy issues
were at the forefront, and I’m just [bleep] with you. We’re gonna talk
about impeachment. [ Laughter ] For more on this,
it’s time for “A Closer Look.” [ Cheers and applause ] It’s been an explosive week of
testimony in Washington, and if you’d like an example of
just how shocking and crazy things have been, I’d like to
direct you to C-SPAN, the network of empty chairs
and sleeping congressmen. C-SPAN is normally a source of
calm and consistency, but the tone was
a little different today when they were taking calls
on impeachment and someone from Florida
called in after someone from Alabama
and said this. -Howdy. I just want to apologize
first and foremost for all the morons
on the calls earlier, especially from Alabama
and all that. Secondly I just want to say
impeach the [bleep]. Have a great day. [ Laughter ] -Thanks, Monty, in Florida. That’s it for phone calls
right now. -Oh, my God. Impeachment has been so crazy, C-SPAN is turning
into “Howard Stern.” [ Laughter ] So that’s just a little glimpse in how crazy Washington’s
been this week. Now, the actual
impeachment hearings have been nothing short
of jaw-dropping, with one bombshell
after another. The testimony this week
has directly tied virtually every senior official
in Trump’s inner circle to a corrupt quid pro quo
in which the President used hundreds of millions of dollars
in taxpayer money appropriated by Congress
to solicit a bribe from a foreign country to help
him in the 2020 election. That’s it. That’s the major takeaway I wish
everyone would remember. In fact, if I knew
how to cross-stitch, I’d get that sewn onto a pillow
and sell it in the NBC store. [ Laughter ] Although the merch in
the C-SPAN store is much better. [ Laughter ] Now, remember,
before these hearings, the only line of defense
Trump and his allies had, the line they kept repeating
over and over and over again was that there was
no quid pro quo with Ukraine. -There’s no quid pro quo,
no demand, no pressure, no threat. -There’s no quid pro quo. -There was no quid pro quo. -There is no quid pro quo.
-There is no quid pro quo. -There was no quid pro quo.
-There was no quid pro quo. -There was no quid pro quo. -But listen to this.
There is no pro quo. -In a way, that’s Trump’s
best defense. “How could I be
guilty of something if I can’t even remember
how to say it?” [ Laughter ] So there you go. Trump says there was
no pro quo, which sounds like something a
tourist would say in Europe when one of those dudes comes into
the restaurant, selling flowers. “Scuzi? No, no pro quo.” [ Laughter ] But yesterday that talking point
was completely blown up when Trump’s hand-picked
ambassador to the European Union,
Gordon Sondland, a businessman who donated
a million dollars to Trump’s inaugural committee
and who was a central player in the Ukraine scheme said there
was, in fact, a quid pro quo. -Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested
White House call and the White House meeting,
the answer is yes. -Man, not only did he answer
the key question, he asked it himself. Gordon Sondland was so
determined to bring down Trump, he didn’t even need anyone else
in the room with him. He could’ve just
interviewed himself. “Mr. Sondland, was there
a quid pro quo? Yes, Mr. Sondland, there was. And that’s the T.” [ Laughter and applause ] So there it is. He settled it definitively
once and for all — there was, in fact,
a quid pro quo. What could Trump’s defense
possibly be? “I never said there was
no quid pro quo. I said there was…” -No pro quo. -“Totally different.” So everyone in the White House
knew what was going on. In fact, Sondland
named tons of people, from Trump
to Vice President Mike Pence, all the way down the chain. -President Trump,
Vice President Pence, Secretary Perry,
Ambassador Volker, Secretary Pompeo,
Ambassador Bolton, Chief of Staff Mulvaney,
Rudy Giuliani. -My God, it’s like
he was reading from a phone book of criminals. I guess in this case, it would
be called the very white pages. [ Laughter ] So everyone knew
what was happening, or as Sondland put it
in his testimony yesterday… -Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret. -Of course, this administration
has no secrets because every time
they do something secret, Rudy Giuliani runs to
the nearest TV camera, confesses to everything,
and gives us the evidence. -Did our State Department ask
you to go on a mission for them? -They did. -So you did ask Ukraine
to look into Joe Biden. -Of course I did. And you know who I did it
at the request of? The State Department.
It’s all here, right here. -He literally confessed
to all of it then showed us the evidence. Rudy already held his own
impeachment inquiry by himself. He’s like a guy who sees the
cops at his door and breaks down before they ask him a question. “Fine, I robbed a bank. Here’s the gun I used,
and here’s the cash.” “Sir, I am just here
to check the meter.” [ Laughter ] So, in many ways,
we already knew the core facts at the heart of the case, but this week’s testimony
has made it clear as day, yes, there was way quid pro quo, yes, it was ordered by
the President, yes, everyone else
knew about it, and, yes, it was designed
specifically to help Trump win the 2020 election, which is important because
the other line of defense Republicans have used was that
Trump was concerned about corruption in Ukraine
in general. In fact, Rudy Giuliani, who is reportedly
under criminal investigation, repeated that argument yesterday
in an interview with Glenn Beck, but I don’t think it came out
quite the way Rudy intended it. -It’s rumored they’re
investigating me for bribery. I’d like to know who I bribed. I don’t bribe people. I’ve been doing this for
50 years in my life. I’ve never had a complaint. I think people understand that I have a very, very great
passion for corruption. [ Laughter ] -No, that didn’t — that didn’t come out the way
he wanted it to. You made it
sound like corruption is one of your hobbies. That’s how someone would
describe themselves in their Tinder bio. “I have a great passion for
swimming, horseback riding, corruption, and pulling the skin all the way back
behind my head.” You got to be careful
how you phrase stuff, man. Rudy saying he has a great
passion for corruption would be like O.J. saying, “Man, I’d kill for
a ham sandwich right now.” [ Laughter ] Two people? [ Laughter and applause ] But obviously this was not about
corruption in general. This was about helping
Trump specifically. Yesterday, for example, Sondland
admitted in an exchange with Congressman
Sean Patrick Maloney that the investigations were
explicitly designed to benefit Trump, although it took some
coaxing to get it out of him. -Who would have benefited
from an investigation of the President’s
political opponents? -I don’t want to characterize who would’ve
and who would not have. -I know you don’t want to, sir. That’s my question. Would you answer it for me? -Restate your question. -Who would benefit
from an investigation of the President’s
political opponent? -Well, presumably the person
who asked for the investigation. -Who is that? -If the President asked for the
investigation, it would be he. -Well, it’s not a hypothetical,
is it, sir? Who would benefit from
an investigation of the Bidens? -There are two
different questions. -I’m just asking one. Who would benefit from
an investigation of the Bidens? -I assume President Trump
would benefit. -There we have it, see. [ Applause ] -Trump. The answer was Trump. That exchange was excruciating. It was like watching someone
else open a pickle jar, and when they
finally got it open, the only pickle inside was
one with weird hair on it. [ Laughter ] So, you heard Sondland
very clearly there. This was all orchestrated
to hurt Trump’s political rivals and help the President win. And today we got more testimony
to confirm that fact from a state Department official
named David Holmes. Holmes was with Sondland
in Ukraine when Sondland called Trump to
talk about the scheme and Holmes overheard
that conversation. Now, you’ll recall that
yesterday Sondland confirmed the account
that Holmes had given, an account Holmes
repeated today. -I heard Ambassador Sondland
greet the President and explain he was calling
from Kiev. I heard President Trump then
clarify that Ambassador Sondland was in Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland replied,
yes, he was in Ukraine, and went on to state
that President Zelensky “loves your ass.” I then heard
President Trump ask, “So, he’s going to do
the investigation?” Ambassador Sondland replied that
“he’s going to do it.” -He also testified that you
confirmed to President Trump that you were in Ukraine
at the time and that President Zelensky
“loves your ass.” Do you recall saying that? -Yeah, it sounds like
something I would say. [ Laughter ] -That is the face of a man who
has no [bleep] left to give. [ Laughter and applause ] “Yeah, man.” [ Cheers and applause ] “Oh, yeah. That sounds
like Gordon Sondland. About to crack open a brewski.
It’s party time.” [ Laughter ] So Holmes overheard
Trump ask Sondland about the investigations,
and just in case it wasn’t absolutely clear
what they were talking about when Sondland got off the phone
with Trump, Holmes asked him to clarify and Sondland confessed
to everything on the spot. -After the call ended,
Ambassador Sondland remarked that the President
was in a bad mood, as Ambassador Sondland stated
was often the case early in the morning. I then took the opportunity
to ask Ambassador Sondland for his candid impression of the
President’s views on Ukraine. In particular, I asked
Ambassador Sondland if it was true that
the President did not give a expletive about Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland agreed
that the President did not give an expletive
about Ukraine. -Hey, man, you don’t got to
bleep yourself. You could just say it. We’re way past bleeping. A porn star went on TV and talked about
the President’s [bleep] and people dropping F-bombs
on C-SPAN. We are through
the looking glass, baby. [ Laughter ] But then Holmes continued
and said that Sondland made it clear to him
that all Trump cared about was investigating his political
rival, Joe Biden. -Ambassador Sondland agreed
that the President did not give an expletive
about Ukraine. I asked why not. Ambassador Sondland stated
that the President only cares about big stuff. I noted there was big stuff
going on in Ukraine, like a war with Russia. And Ambassador Sondland replied
that he meant big stuff that benefits the President, like the Biden investigation
that Mr. Giuliani was pushing. I briefed the call in detail to
the deputy commission, went away for a week, come back, I referred to the call,
and everyone is nodding. Of course that’s
what’s going on. Of course the President is pressing for
a Biden investigation before he’ll do these things
the Ukrainians the want. There was nodding agreement. Everyone by that point agreed. It was obvious what
the President was pressing for. -It was obvious
this is about the Bidens. Sondland said it himself. In fact, I got Rudy on FaceTime
right now. Rudy, did you ask Ukraine
to investigate the Bidens? -Of course I did.
-Thank you. [ Laughter ] And if you’re wondering
how Holmes could’ve overheard Trump speaking on
Sondland’s phone, Holmes even did
a physical re-enactment to show just how loud
Trump was yelling. -When the President came on,
he sort of winced and held the phone away
from his ear like this, and he did that for the first
couple of exchanges. That’s how I was able
to hear it. -I definitely believe
that’s how it happened. That’s just how old people
talk in a phone. They think every phone is like
a ham radio during World War II. “Hello, is anyone out there?! Are you receiving this message?! Does he love my ass?!” [ Laughter and applause ] So Rudy was
at the center of this, and everything he was doing,
he did at the express direction of the President. Everyone knew what was going on, even if they weren’t happy
about it. In fact, Sondland made that
clear in his testimony yesterday and again today Holmes and former national security
official Fiona Hill made it clear, using
several colorful metaphors. -President Trump directed us to
“talk with Rudy.” Mr. Giuliani’s requests
were a quid pro quo. Mr. Giuliani was expressing
the desires of the President
of the United States. -Ambassador Bolton
had looked pained, basically indicated
with body language that there was nothing much that
we could do about it. And he then, in the course of
that discussion, said that Rudy Giuliani
was a hand grenade that was going to
blow everyone up. -Someone wondered aloud why
Mr. Giuliani was so active in the media with respect
to Ukraine. My recollection is that
Ambassador Sondland stated, “Damn it, Rudy. Every time Rudy gets involved,
he goes and effs everything up.” -I love that they were all mad
at Rudy for going on TV and blabbing about their scheme. They’re like guys planning
a bank heist going, “Alright, it’s a perfect plan. There’s no way we’ll get caught. Wait, wait, wait, no, no, no,
where’s Rudy? Where’s Rudy?
Oh, no, no, no.” [ Laughter ] So Holmes shared
his recollections of what he overheard
on the phone call with Trump. Trump was on the other end, but
he was speaking loudly enough that Holmes could hear him,
an account that Sondland himself confirmed yesterday, but still, Trump and his allies
remain unconvinced. Trump, for example, insisted
this morning that overhearing someone on a phone call
was impossible and he would know
because he’s tried. -President Trump not buying it
on Twitter, explaining, “I’ve been watching people making phone calls
my entire life. My hearing is
and has been great. Never have I been watching
a person making a call which was not on speaker phone and been able to hear or
understand the conversation. I even tried, but to no avail.” -You are a weird, weird man. [ Laughter ] What do you mean
you’ve been watching people make calls your entire life? What do you mean? I’m willing to bet the only
reason it didn’t work is because when he listens to
phone calls, Trump stands right behind you and makes no attempt
to hide himself. “Oh, excuse me, sir.
Do you mind going away?” “No, I can’t go away because I’m
listening to your phone call.” Here’s what we learned
this week. There was a corrupt quid pro quo in which the President
of the United States solicited a bribe
from a foreign country to interfere in
the 2020 election, and everyone knew about it. We have the testimony.
We have the evidence. That’s it.
It’s an open-and-shut case. The Republicans have no defense. So all they can do is lie
and attack the witnesses. I don’t know what
they’ll do next, but as for the Democrats, it
sure looks like they’re gonna… -Impeach the [bleep] -This has been “A Closer Look.”

100 thoughts on “Second Week of Impeachment Testimony Ends with More Damning Evidence: A Closer Look”

  2. If Hillary Clinton had become president and had done half these things, the GOP would have thrown her in jail a long time ago.

    Reply

  7. Don't forget about Buchanan’s time in the White House. He was pretty bad. His entire cabinet turned against the United States

    Reply

  10. Evidently Putin is Trump's Chief of Staff and advised him to try to blame Ukraine for invading our elections to get Russia off the hook.

    Reply

  17. Please register and vote, folks.
    Tell everyone you know to register and vote!
    Volunteer for candidates, make phone calls, canvas, and donate what you can!
    It’s the only way to hold these scoundrels accountable.

    Reply

  20. Republicans will try to discredit Sondland's testimony but I have never seen a person in that chair look more comfortable than he did just now.

    Reply

  23. Listen to the people Don and do the honorable thing and resign . it's never too late to do the right thing for the first time in your life.

    Reply

  26. I feel like they're dragging this season finale for too long just for the views. The series had a solid plot, it was supposed to be 1 season but they stretched it for a second one. They should just end President Trump while people are so invested in this last impeachment finale

    Reply

  27. It’s really disturbing that there isn’t a Republican in the house that is willing to admit Trump abused his power. The only way to get rid of this asshole is through the 2020 election.

    Reply

  29. Well Republicans i think it is too late to grow some backbone but ffs at least stop asking stupid questions and get it over with. Vlad is watching laughing eating pop corn

    Reply

  33. If u think that evidence is bad u r very stupid.
    WAIT TIL FBI is done handing out warrants, and Damming report comes out on how they all CONSPIRED against PRESIDENT TRUMP

    Reply

  39. This was good and I love Seth, but I really wanted to hear his debate recap. Wish he would have split this into two segments. 🙁

    Reply

  40. Until the dude broke his own back to stress how he had absolutely no idea that there was any quiid pro quo at all ever – he never heard anyone say it, ever – it was just his opinion that there was a quid pro quo. Don't even think this audience is stupid enough to fall for such a shooty edit job

    Reply

  47. A$AP Rocky saved the Union!!!! USA USA USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

    Reply

  49. The Republicans think that if they say it enough that it will sooner or later be true because Trump will say he heard it from millions of people and it has to be true!

    Reply

  50. Trump 2020!!!! It’s amazing how many of you hate him for getting our country back on its feet. Everything you hate Trump for, was already approved of by the Democrats just a few years ago. You hate him for putting children in cages that Obama had built for that specific purpose. You hate him for wanting to build a wall and protect our citizens that Obama, Hillary, and almost every other Democratic candidate appeared to endorse just a few years ago. The Democratic Party is the laughing stock of the world. Your an embarrassment for our nation. Republicans have always and will continue to be the shining light in this nation while Democrats try to figure out how to kill babies continue to enslave Black and now Hispanics by continuing to promise wealth and prosperity and delivering debilitating debt and welfare reliance. But your worried about Trump uncovering all the nasty deeds the Democratic Party has and continues to commit. 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 led to the slaughter.

    Reply

  55. I don’t understand how so many people can stand up for someone who would throw them under the bus if it were to benefit them in any way

    Reply

  59. Smoke and mirrors. While we're watching this shi#storm, what are the Russians doing? Why, they're chatting with the Chinese.

    Reply

  61. Another egregious abuse of power from the communist/democrat party. A total s**t show. Just like the Muller investigation. All an attempted coup propagated by the democrats and stoked by msm. Those 2 groups are far worse and have sown so much divisiveness and discord in the country. There is nothing here. How about that democrat Presidential field, though? LMAO! What a joke! Just like your boy here, Seth Meyers. And about as funny.

    Reply

  65. “Sir, I’m just here to check the meter…” Then Rudy invites him in and gets him to take the hit for everything in this scandal.

    Reply

  66. What CAN daft wee Rudy be under investigation for?

    Making-the-beast-with-two-backs with its' OWN COUSIN*? Or something much worse, say, TREASON?

    *Seriously, her name is Regina Peruggi, and she binned "him" because, like Das Orange Anus, "he" couldn't keep it in "his" pants. This is one-hundred-percent true, and if you need any proof, here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_Peruggi

    Reply

  68. I pity the voters who put Congressman Jimbo into office. Guess they'll probably reelect him because he "Done Good". Yes, we need a motormouthing, pitbull, bullyboy in congress when he's on "Our Side". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ZgWReXFIQ

    Reply

  74. Are there any criminals anywhere in the world less competent than these 3 Stooges, Trump/Giuliani/Sondland? That's a rhetorical question!

    Reply

  77. Even if the House of Representatives approves his Impeachment, House of Senath run by Mitch Machonal will fail the Impeachment.

    Reply

  79. To the Democrats, It is all about a PROFFER, the crime starts and needs no further embellishments after the proffer is made. If a bank robber hands a teller a note stating "I have a gun, put all of the money in the drawer in this bag" when the teller presses the alarm and the robber is arrested, he has no course of action to defend his illegal proffer. He cannot claim no quid pro quo, he can not claim the teller was somehow responsible. The crime occured when the robber handed the note to the teller, there need be no action other than that to put the robber behind bars for a very long time. Similarly, the moment the President made the illegal PROFFER to President Zelensky, he was guilty of the crime. No action on the part of Zelensky is necessary to make it a crime, the crime happened the minute our President uttered those fateful words that made release of funds (desperately needed to prevent more deaths at the hands of Russia) contingent on Zelensky making an announcement, an announcement that was political in nature and who's sole beneficiary was Donald Trump. The proffer is all that it takes to prove an impeachable act, the President had NO authority to delay congressionally approved funds, CRIME 1. He then tied the release of those illegally delayed funds to obtain a PERSONAL political benefit. Trump being a BUSINESSMAN saw an opportunity to LEVERAGE a situation in order to gain great personal political ADVANTAGE. Even better, the funds he is delaying were not his own, they were property of the American taxpayers, CRIME 2. The fact that he has denied every congressional subpoena for documents and testimony is CRIME 3. The trial needs to be focused on the PROFFER, for that is when the crime starts and ends.

    Reply

  80. You lying late nite hack. He also said it was his opinion. He also testified and said Trump told him there is no quid pro quo

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  83. Trump's hearing isn't as great as he thinks or he's embellishing as usual; it's possible to overhear a boisterous person on someone else's cellphone.

    Reply

  86. Yep, the evidence seems pretty sound. Too bad the Republicans don't care about facts. He won't be found guilty by The Senate, and he'll probably get re-elected. I'd move somewhere else but Putin has destroyed democracy all around the world. Finland still seems nice but I don't think I could immigrate to there.

    Reply

  87. Trump only wants the big stuff. People dying on the battle field is not considered big stuff. How damn pathetic has the president and his minions (trumpanzee,'s) have become. After 33 years in the military I now feel like a stranger in this country. SAD

    Reply

  91. I unintentionally hear people on the other end of a call all the time. Just depends on the voice volume and how noisy your setting is

    Reply

  93. I can't believe trump is so
    stupid. Only his buddies will take his side. He must think that whole world is out to GET him. So sad, he and those clown's are a disgrace to America and to the world!

    Reply

  94. This piece was pure propaganda garbage! Sondland didn't bring any new evidence. This was just his interpretation which we already new it was. So nothing new! The Democrats screwed up on this impeachment thing and now the media is scrambling to spin public opinion. That's what Seth is doing here.

    Reply

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