President Trump only wanted Ukraine to announce an investigation into the Bidens, but there was no expectation for them to follow through with the inquiry, according to Ambassador Gordon Sondland.
During his testimony on Wednesday, Sondland was the first witness to claim Trump demanded that Ukraine announce an investigation into the Bidens in return for a White House visit. In his July 25 phone call, Trump had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into possible corruption between Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had landed a high-paying job for the natural gas firm Burisma.
Sondland told House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff that Trump only wanted an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma to be announced, but he didn’t care if the inquiry ever took place. He claimed that Trump would only deliver on his promise of a White House visit for Ukraine if the investigation was announced.
“[Zelensky] had to announce the investigations. He didn’t actually have to do them, as I understood it,” said Sondland, affirming that the announcement must be public.
Sondland noted that he was not directly in talks about the situation with the president but had heard about the quid pro quo from Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
“Through Mr. Giuliani, we were led to believe that’s what he wanted,” he told Schiff, later adding, “Right, when the president says talk to my personal lawyer, Mr. Giuliani, we followed his direction.”
Sondland, 62, is the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. In his opening statement, Sondland said there was a “potential quid pro quo” between Trump and Zelenski over the promised military aid.
