Sondland
Testifies Trump Directed US Diplomats to Follow Giuliani's Lead in Ukraine
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Sondland said in
his opening statement (pdf) to the House
committees leading the inquiry that he opposed the involvement of Giuliani,
Trump's personal lawyer, in U.S.-Ukraine affairs—but ultimately obeyed the
president's demands.
"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," said Sondland, who was subpoenaed to testify after the
Trump administration blocked him from appearing before the
House last week.
"Based on the
president's direction, we were faced with a choice," said Sondland.
"We could abandon the goal of a White House meeting for [Ukranian]
President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, which we all believed was crucial to
strengthening U.S.-Ukrainian ties and furthering long-held U.S. foreign policy
goals in the region; or we could do as President Trump directed and talk to Mr.
Giuliani to address the president's concerns."
Rep. David Cicilline
(D-R.I.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters Thursday that Sondland's
opening remarks were "very damning" for the president and
"further confirmation" that Giuliani was running a "shadow State
Department effort" to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Sondland said he didn't realize "until much later" that Giuliani was pressuring Ukraine to launch a probe into Biden.
Critics responded to
Sondland's claim, which absolves him of complicity in potential wrongdoing,
with skepticism. Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake noted on Twitter that "multiple
stories" had been written about Giuliani's desire for an investigation
into Biden.
"Mr. Giuliani has
spearheaded the effort among conservatives to publicize and encourage the new
investigation in Ukraine," the New York Times reported on May 1. Sondland said in his
deposition that Trump instructed diplomats to work with Giuliani on Ukraine
during a meeting on May 23.
As Sondland arrived at
the Capitol to deliver his testimony, NBC reporter Geoff
Bennett asked Sondland whether he is appearing before House investigators to
"salvage" his reputation.
"I don't have a
reputation to salvage," said Sondland.
Sondland refused to
comment on whether there was a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine.
In his deposition,
Sondland said he called Trump directly and asked him, "What do you want
from Ukraine?"
"The president
responded, 'Nothing. There is no quid pro quo.' The president repeated: 'no
quid pro quo' multiple times," Sondland said. "This was a very short
call. And I recall the president was in a bad mood."
As Common
Dreams reported earlier this month, text
exchanges released by House Democrats showed that Sondland attempted to assuage
concerns about the president's actions raised by Bill Taylor, a top U.S.
diplomat in Ukraine.
"Are we now
saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on
investigations?" Taylor asked in one September exchange.
Sondland replied
simply, "Call me."