>> i think it's poppycock, and i think it is once again an effort by the president and all of the members of the house and senate on the republican side to try and weave a falsehood into a truism. it was very clear what the president wanted, and certainly the hearings we had showed how much time and energy the tres amigos, sondland and perry and volker, had to tap dance around their meetings with the president of ukraine because this investigation was critical to them getting aid or getting a meeting at the white house. and it's very true that the president of the united states knew about the whistle-blower in august. and so his lifting the hold on the aid in september was more