U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland told the House impeachment inquiry Wednesday that President Trump directly pressured the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter — and that other senior administration officials were “in the loop.” During explosive testimony on the fifth day of public impeachment hearings, Ambassador Sondland said Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were part of the effort to force Ukraine into helping Trump’s re-election bid. Sondland testified the officials knew that President Trump conditioned the release of nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid and an Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian president on a statement about the Bidens.

Gordon Sondland: “I know that members of this committee frequently frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: 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.”