7:52 p.m. ET, October 17, 2019
GOP defends Trump's decision to rely on Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine
From CNN's Jeremy Herb
Asked about US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland's concerns with the role
Rudy Giuliani played in setting US policy in Ukraine, Rep. Jim Jordan defended the President’s decision, and Republicans argued that the full picture was being obscured because the testimony was behind closed doors.
“The President is allowed to have whoever he thinks is going to be serve the interests of the country doing work for him,” Jordan told reporters following Sondland's deposition.
Jordan and congressional Republicans went on to say there was no quid pro quo with the Ukrainian aid.
Jordan said Sondland "was very clear” with his text message.
About the text message: Sondland's text message was sent to the top US diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, who raised concerns in a text to Sondland about the US withholding nearly $400 million of US military and security aid.
"As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign," Taylor writes to Sondland on September 9, prompting Sondland to respond that Taylor was incorrect and that "the President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo's of any kind."
Saying he was concerned the Ukrainians could perceive a connection, Sondland told lawmakers that he responded to Taylor after he called the President directly to ask about the Ukraine aid.
"I asked the President: 'What do you want from Ukraine?' The President responded, 'Nothing. There is no quid pro quo,'" Sondland said. "The President repeated: 'no quid pro quo' multiple times. This was a very short call. And I recall the President was in a bad mood."
Sondland told House investigators today that his text message was only based on his conversation with Trump, according to a source with knowledge of his testimony.