Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will testify to House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, defying the State Department's direction not to cooperate.
"Notwithstanding the State Department's current direction to not testify, Ambassador Sondland will honor the Committees' subpoena, and he looks forward to testifying on Thursday," Sondland's attorneys, Robert Luskin and Kwame Manley, said in a statement Friday.
"Federal law and State Department regulations prohibit him from producing documents concerning his official responsibilities. Ambassador Sondland does not control the disposition of his documents. By federal law and regulation, the State Department has sole authority to produce such documents, and Ambassador Sondland hopes the materials will be shared with the Committees in advance of his Thursday testimony," Sondland's lawyers said in the statement.
Text messages provided to Congress show Sondland and another ambassador worked to persuade Ukraine to publicly commit to investigating Trump's political opponents and explicitly linked the inquiry to whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would be granted an official White House visit.
The whistleblower describes Sondland as working to help the Ukrainians navigate Trump's request for an investigation and trying to mitigate damage Giuliani was allegedly inflicting on U.S. national security.
In the text messages that Volker ultimately turned over to Congress, Sondland appears to not only be actively facilitating Trump's goal but also shutting down a top diplomat who raised concerns.
On Sept. 9, according to the messages, acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor tells Sondland that "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign." Sondland pushes back, telling Taylor that he's "Incorrect" about Trump's intentions and that the president has made clear "No quid pro quos of any kind." He then advises Taylor to stop discussing the issue via text.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/e-u-ambassador-sondland-testify-impeachment-inquiry-defying-state-department-n1064966
"Notwithstanding the State Department's current direction to not testify, Ambassador Sondland will honor the Committees' subpoena, and he looks forward to testifying on Thursday," Sondland's attorneys, Robert Luskin and Kwame Manley, said in a statement Friday.
"Federal law and State Department regulations prohibit him from producing documents concerning his official responsibilities. Ambassador Sondland does not control the disposition of his documents. By federal law and regulation, the State Department has sole authority to produce such documents, and Ambassador Sondland hopes the materials will be shared with the Committees in advance of his Thursday testimony," Sondland's lawyers said in the statement.
Text messages provided to Congress show Sondland and another ambassador worked to persuade Ukraine to publicly commit to investigating Trump's political opponents and explicitly linked the inquiry to whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would be granted an official White House visit.
The whistleblower describes Sondland as working to help the Ukrainians navigate Trump's request for an investigation and trying to mitigate damage Giuliani was allegedly inflicting on U.S. national security.
In the text messages that Volker ultimately turned over to Congress, Sondland appears to not only be actively facilitating Trump's goal but also shutting down a top diplomat who raised concerns.
On Sept. 9, according to the messages, acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor tells Sondland that "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign." Sondland pushes back, telling Taylor that he's "Incorrect" about Trump's intentions and that the president has made clear "No quid pro quos of any kind." He then advises Taylor to stop discussing the issue via text.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/e-u-ambassador-sondland-testify-impeachment-inquiry-defying-state-department-n1064966
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