Washington
The US ambassador to the European Union told an impeachment hearing on Wednesday that he followed President Donald Trump’s orders in seeking a “quid pro quo” deal for Ukraine to probe a political rival in exchange for a White House summit. In explosive televised testimony, Sondland — whose appearance was being watched especially closely as he was a Trump ally — said he believed the president was pressing Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 challenger Joe Biden. “We followed the president’s orders,” Sondland testified before the House Intelligence Committee. He said that Trump forced US diplomats to work with his personal lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Sondland said that Trump held off on offering a summit with Ukraine’s new president.
