Gordon Sondland

Washington -- In the most explosive testimony in the impeachment inquiry to date, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union told House lawmakers that he and other diplomats sought a "quid pro quo" arrangement with Ukraine, executing an ultimately unsuccessful scheme that was known and supported by the highest levels of government.

The White House and President Trump’s allies scrambled on Wednesday to contain the damage from new allegations from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, whose testimony in front of impeachment investigators detailed an explicit “quid pro quo” with Ukraine at Trump’s ultimate directive.

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, delivered the most explosive testimony yet in the House impeachment hearings on Wednesday, saying President Donald Trump effectively directed him to broker a quid pro quo with Ukraine to investigate a chief political rival.

Sondland, an Oregon hotelier who gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund after his 2016 election, also pointed to Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and several other administration officials who, he said, were aware of the efforts.

WASHINGTON— Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, said Wednesday at a public hearing that “at the express direction” of President Trump he urged Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit the president politically.

The diplomat at the center of the impeachment inquiry looped in the secretary of state at key moments as American officials pushed for investigations sought by President Trump.

Gordon D. Sondland, the diplomat at the center of the House impeachment inquiry, kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apprised of key developments in the campaign to pressure Ukraine’s leader into public commitments that would satisfy President Trump, two people briefed on the matter said.

“We followed the president’s orders,” Sondland says.

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, is testifying to the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday morning in the highest-stakes impeachment hearing yet — and his opening statement has now been released.

In it, Sondland confirms that there was a “quid pro quo” imposed on Ukraine, and says that he was carrying out the “orders” of President Donald Trump.

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland confirmed Wednesday the existence of a "quid pro quo" in which military aid to Ukraine was tied to President Donald Trump's call for an investigation of his political rival, Joe Biden.

Sondland, testifying on Capitol Hill in the Trump impeachment inquiry, said he was acting on Trump's orders in his actions with regard to Ukraine.

He said, "At all times, I was acting in good faith. As a presidential appointee, I followed the directions of the President."

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland provided testimony to Congress Wednesday affirming a quid pro quo for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to win a meeting and phone call with President Trump.

But Sondland, a pivotal witness in the House impeachment investigation, maintained he did not have direct evidence those conditions were directly tied to critical security aid.

Sondland, in his prepared remarks to the House Intelligence Committee, said that conditions were set for the Ukrainian president to be granted a phone call and meeting with Trump.

At the very least, Gordon Sondland’s diplomatic inexperience and tendency to go rogue threatened to muddle U.S. policy toward Ukraine. A number of people who have testified in the impeachment inquiry have said or hinted as much about the ambassador to the European Union.

Another possibility is that Sondland was acting at the direction of President Trump to pressure Ukrainians to investigate his political rivals.

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will testify Wednesday that there was a "quid pro quo" between Ukraine conducting politically-motivated investigations and getting U.S. military assistance, and that many in the administration knew it, according to his opening statement.