The U.S. ambassador to the EU will tell Congress that Trump directed him to work with his personal lawyer to push Ukraine to announce investigations, but that he was in the dark on the extent of Giuliani's efforts and the political motive behind it
Gordon Sondland, the Trump mega donor turned diplomat, has emerged as a central character in the impeachment inquiry led by three House committees for the role he played in leading Ukraine policy, at times outside official government channels.
At least one week before the call, Trump had ordered nearly $400 million of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to be withheld -- a fact that Ukrainian officials would learn later in August as Sondland, Volker, and others continued to ask for an investigation announcement. Instead, he will say he believed the administration was pushing for"a public embrace of anti-corruption reforms by Ukraine" as a precondition for the meeting.
In his testimony Thursday, Sondland will confirm that after receiving that message, he called Trump directly and asked him what he wanted from Ukraine.
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