The White House effort to stop State Department and foreign service officials from testifying before an impeachment panel is failing, badly. Gordon Sondland previously wan’t going to testify, but the U.S. ambassador to the European Union suddenly appeared back on the schedule and this morning he was seen entering the capital. His testimony could be devastating to Donald Trump.
Politico has obtained Sondland’s opening statement. He will tell Representatives that he opposed Trump’s efforts to “run Ukraine policy through his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.“
Sondland will add that when the president directed him to involve Giuliani, he was “disappointed” by that.
“Our view was that the men and women of the State Department, not the President’s personal lawyer, should take responsibility for all aspects of U.S. foreign policy towards Ukraine.” – Ambassador Gordon Sondland
The Wall Street Journal reports Sondland’s testimony includes criticism of Trump and his handling of U.S. foreign policy. He also will say that he regretted the departure of Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine whom Trump ousted. The Journal reports Sondland will also say:
“Inviting a foreign government to undertake investigations for the purpose of influencing an upcoming U.S. election would be wrong. Withholding foreign aid in order to pressure a foreign government to take such steps would be wrong,” Mr. Sondland said in his prepared testimony. “I did not and would not ever participate in such undertakings. In my opinion, security aid to Ukraine was in our vital national interest and should not have been delayed for any reason.”
