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U.S. Diplomat Says He Was Following Trump's Orders On 'Quid Pro Quo' With Ukraine
By RFE/RL November 20, 2019
WASHINGTON -- Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, has testified before a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives that President Donald Trump never told him that the release of military aid to Ukraine was dependent on its leaders announcing an investigation into his political rival.
Sondland contradicted earlier testimony by U.S. officials that Trump informed him that aid was conditional upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy making a public statement about starting an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking to challenge Trump in 2020.
"I never heard from President Trump that aid was conditioned on an announcement" of investigations, Sondland told the hearing on November 20. Rather, it was "my own personal guess" that it was conditional.
Sondland said he never received a clear reason why the aid was delayed and never heard any other official advocate for it being held.
Sondland is a key witness in the House impeachment investigation into whether Trump held up the aid to pressure the Zelenskiy government to investigate Biden -- what Democrats label an abuse of presidential power -- because he had repeated conversations with the U.S. president about Ukraine policy.
Trump Friend
Sondland, a wealthy hotelier and major Trump donor, was nominated by the president as ambassador to the EU last year.
Given his perceived close relationship to Trump, which the president has since denied, Sondland's appearance had been highly anticipated as a turning point as the impeachment inquiry moves closer to Trump.
Sondland said he came to testify before the impeachment hearing despite White House and State Department requests that he not participate.
He said the White House and State Department denied his request for access to phone records, emails and other documents that could help him recall his conversations, which he described as "less than fair."
Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois, criticized Trump for denying Sondland access.
"If there were evidence that would absolve the president, the White House would be beating down our door," he said in a tweet.
Sondland did tell the hearing that a White House visit by Zelenskiy -- which was critical to demonstrate U.S. support for Ukraine and its new leader -- was dependent on the announcement of investigations into Biden and Ukraine interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, calling it a "quid pro quo."
Trump's defenders have specifically said there was no quid pro quo in dealings with Ukraine.
Sondland told the hearing he understood the two investigations had to be publicly announced because Ukrainian officials have a history of making promises in private and then not delivering on them. However, he said he never heard that the investigations actually "had to start or be completed."
Last week, State Department official David Holmes revealed to impeachment investigators a previously unknown phone call between Trump and Sondland on July 26 that Holmes said touched upon an investigation of Biden.
Sondland confirmed that he spoke to Trump that day about the investigations, but denied he mentioned Biden in that conversation.
The ambassador took issue with previous witness testimony that he, Ukraine Special Envoy Kurt Volker, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry were part of an "irregular or rogue diplomacy" channel with respect to Ukraine.
Everyone In The Loop
Sondland said he was carrying out Trump's orders to inform Ukrainian officials of his desire for a public announcement of the investigation and repeatedly kept State Department, White House and National Security Council officials informed of his work.
Sondland said the orders were delivered through Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and that Trump told him and others to "talk to Rudy" about Ukraine matters.
Sondland submitted to the hearing new evidence showing his correspondences with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Council official Tim Morrison, and White House Chief of Staff Mike Mulvaney about Ukraine policy.
"Everyone was in the loop," Sondland testified in the opening remarks.
"It was no secret," he added.
Sondland, in his opening statement, also said he specifically told Vice President Mike Pence shortly before the latter's meeting with Zelenskiy in Warsaw in early September of his "concerns" that military aid to Ukraine "had become tied" to the investigations.
Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, denied later in the day that Sondland had informed the vice president of the delay.
Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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