cillizza just figuring this out now

But there was one piece of Sondland’s testimony that didn’t get as much attention as it should have. Under questioning from Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-California) about the specific nature of the quid pro quo between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sondland said this:
“He had to announce the investigations. He didn’t actually have to do them, as I understood it.”

Which, to be clear, means that in order for Zelensky to get the White House meeting he so coveted, he needed to simply announce that Ukraine was looking into Joe and Hunter Biden — despite there being no evidence of wrongdoing by either of them — as well as the whereabouts of the hacked Democratic National Committee server.
Not conduct the investigation. Not prosecute anyone. Just announce it.