And who could blame them? The evidence was overwhelming. The endless hours of testimony all pointed to the same conclusion: Trump sent his private attorney and senior officials on a “domestic political errand,” to quote Fiona Hill, Trump’s former top Russia adviser in the White House, to convince a foreign country to investigate his political enemies.

WASHINGTON — By the time all the punishing impeachment testimony was wrapping up Thursday, President Trump’s GOP defenders appeared so tired of having their talking points slapped down by witnesses that they simply stopped asking questions.

Hill's ability to synthesize the mountain of evidence into one crystal-clear phrase capped a damning week for President Trump, and left many Democrats to believe they'd made the best case they could to the American people.

“The president did it,” said Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) as the curtain fell on the hearings Thursday afternoon. “The only question that remains is, what will we do?”

Here’s how this week’s parade of witnesses, including current and former top administration officials, presented the case against Trump.

Gordon Sondland: “Was there a ‘quid pro quo'? … The answer is yes.”

Trump's handpicked EU ambassador was a tricky witness, evading answers and conveniently forgetting major moments throughout his testimony. But he explicitly confirmed the most crucial element of Democrats’ impeachment argument: Trump was demanding a quid pro quo, which the president and his aides pursued with increasing pressure over the course of the summer and early fall. And Sondland made it clear that top Trump officials knew exactly what he was up to.

“Was there a ‘quid pro quo'? As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes,” Sondland said in his public testimony Wednesday. “We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and the White House meeting reflected President Trump’s desires and requirements,” he said.

Sondland repeatedly listed a bevy of top Trump officials he was in touch with about his pressure campaign on Ukraine President Zelensky — and proved it with emails showing that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and many others were told of his efforts. “Everyone was in the loop,” he declared.

Fiona Hill: Sondland “was on a domestic political errand”

Former National Security Council member Fiona Hill was arguably the most damaging witness to the Trump administration of the whole marathon of hearings. Perhaps her most stinging moment came during the Republicans’ turn to question her.