Sondland: I put pressure on Ukraine to investigate Biden on Trump’s “express orders”
20.11.2019 17:43
The first hearing of the day with the testimony of the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, has just begun.
The US ambassador to the EU will confirm that he — along with Energy Secretary Rick Perry and US diplomat Kurt Walker — has worked with Rudi Giuliani on Ukraine’s issues “as directed by the US president”.
Here is what he will say, according to a copy of his opening remarks:
“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. We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani. 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”.
