In a lengthy and detailed opening statement, Taylor said that he and Sondland spoke by phone about why the aid was frozen, and Sondland cited the need for Ukraine to open an investigation among other reasons, according to the sources. Sondland told Taylor that the investigations potentially included both Ukraine's involvement in the 2016 election and Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that hired former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, the sources said.
Taylor was the replacement for Masha Yovanovich, whom Trump personally removed as part of a quid pro quo with Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko (now confirmed by SDNY in the Parnas indictment) to open investigations that Trump wanted.
Key new developments:
Taylor, filling in the context of the text messages Volker released earlier, confirms that when he talked to Sondland extensively over the phone it was apparent not only that there was a new quid pro quo ordered by Trump himself whereby military aid would be withheld until Ukraine opened the investigations Trump wanted, but that Sondland specifically referenced investigations into Hunter Biden's company.
As late as this morning, the State Department was still blocking Taylor from testifying, necessitating a subpoena from Congress.
Taylor took detailed, contemporanous notes of everything, which no one except State Dept has seen:
Mr. Taylor’s testimony was based in part on detailed notes that he took throughout his tenure, according to another person familiar with what he has told lawmakers. Mr. Taylor has shared his notes with the State Department but has not produced copies of them for lawmakers conducting the impeachment inquiry, the person said.