The US ambassador to the EU has confirmed that officials pushed for a “quid pro quo” arrangement with Ukraine on behalf of President Trump.
Ambassador Gordon Sondland has told President Trump’s impeachment hearing that officials pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into the son of Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden in return for a White House visit.
He said the president ordered him to work with his lawyer Rudi Giuliani on everything to do with Ukraine – and confirmed that Mr Giuliani was actively pushing for a “quid pro quo” arrangement.
"...I worked with Mr. Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters at the express direction of the President...We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani...If we refused to work with Mr. Giuliani, we would lose a very important opportunity to cement relations between the U.S. and Ukraine." pic.twitter.com/bf32woNAJv
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) November 20, 2019
“First, Secretary Perry, Ambassador Volker and I worked with Mr Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters at the express direction of the President of the United States,” he said.
He said Mr Giuliani had demanded that Ukraine publicly announce an investigation into Democratic Party emails during the 2016 election and into unsubstantiated claims about Hunter Biden’s position at Ukraine-based energy company Burisma.
“Mr Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky,” he said.
“Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President.”
Ambassador Gordon Sondland in his own words: pic.twitter.com/C52tuuMNaW
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) November 20, 2019
The inquiry is investigating whether officials working for President Trump offered the Ukrainian president a White House visit in return for announcing the investigations.
It is also investigating whether US aid was withheld in order to pressure the country into announcing them.
Ambassador Sondland said officials felt they had no choice but to work with Mr Giuliani.
“We did not want to work with Mr Giuliani,” he said.
“Simply put, we played the hand we were dealt. We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine.
“So, we followed the president’s orders.”
Ambassador Sondland testified:
➡️ There was quid pro quo in Trump's Ukraine scheme.
➡️ Zelensky would need to announce investigations that would benefit Trump politically in order to lift the "logjam" of aid and a White House meeting.
➡️ Everyone was in the loop about it. pic.twitter.com/nBouyf4tTX
— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) November 20, 2019
He said he learned that the White House had suspended security aid to Ukraine in July and August of this year.
He said he was “adamantly opposed” to the suspension as Ukraine needed the money to fight “Russian aggression.”
“I tried diligently to ask why the aid was suspended, but I never received a clear answer,” he said.
“In the absence of any credible explanation for the suspension of aid, I later came to believe that the resumption of security aid would not occur until there was a public statement from Ukraine committing to the investigations of the 2016 election and Burisma, as Mr Giuliani had demanded.
“I shared concerns of the potential quid pro quo regarding the security aid with Senator Ron Johnson. And I also shared my concerns with the Ukrainians.”
Ambassador Sondland: "Members of this Committee frequently frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a quid pro quo? ... With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes." pic.twitter.com/BvAF9XuyGm
— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) November 20, 2019
He said everyone in the US State Department was “in the loop” about the arrangement, and confirmed that he told the Ukrainian president to give President Trump public assurances that he would “run a fully transparent investigation” and “turn over every stone” in the investigations.
“At all times, I was acting in good faith,” he said.
“As a presidential appointee, I followed the directions of the President. We worked with Mr Giuliani because the President directed us to do so.
“We had no desire to set any conditions on the Ukranians. Indeed, my personal view – which I shared repeatedly with others – was that the White House meeting and security assistance should have proceeded without pre-conditions of any kind.
Ambassador Sondland is a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump. His account supports the testimony of multiple witnesses who have already spoken to impeachment investigators.
