Donald Trump pushed for Ukraine probe of company linked to Hunter Biden, says diplomat Gordon Sondland
- In his opening statement to Congress, the US envoy to the EU sought to distance himself from Trump
- Sondland said he had been ‘disappointed’ Trump had chosen to conduct an important strategic relationship through his lawyer
Donald Trump instructed US diplomats to go through his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to make the Ukrainian president’s access to the White House dependent on launching investigations into Trump’s political opponents, the US ambassador to the EU has testified.
In his opening statement to Congress on Thursday, Gordon Sondland sought to distance himself from the president, saying he had been “disappointed” Trump had chosen to conduct an important strategic relationship through his lawyer.
But Sondland insisted he only realised later that the aim of the investigations Trump was demanding was to target the Democratic Party and the a potential rival for the presidency in 2020, Joe Biden.
He claimed, for example, he was not aware at the time of his negotiations with the Ukrainians that Burisma, an energy company that Giuliani specifically named, had employed Hunter Biden, the former vice-president’s son.
Sondland had been first been due to give testimony on October 8 but was blocked from appearing by the Trump administration.
