Let’s Take This Offline

First Read highlights the text message exchange released last night that’s received most of the attention:

Ukraine embassy official Bill Taylor on Sept. 9: “As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland (a major Trump donor): “Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised during his campaign I suggest we stop the back and forth by text.”

“Note that Sondland reply came nearly five hours later. (Did he get a tip that the correspondence by text was problematic?)”

David Frum: “Don’t call these texts dumb. Taylor was building a file. If we save the country, his determination to put the facts on record will be an important reason why. Sonderland not dumb either. He recognized what Taylor was doing and demanded Taylor cease. Which Taylor refused to do.“