Sondland chooses to save himself

as her husband, conservative lawyer George Conway, has become a prominent critic and target of Trump.

Sondland’s calculations have been a mystery. Though he was confirmed as ambassador to the European Union, he was trusted by Trump to play a key role in US policy toward Ukraine, a country outside his official portfolio.

In October, Trump described Sondland in a tweet as ‘‘a really good man and great American,’’ and urged him not to testify.

Sondland was close enough to Trump to dial him up on a cellphone from a Kyiv restaurant on July 26. During the five-minute call, which two US Embassy employees overheard at the table, he updated Trump on his efforts to get Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to announce the investigations into Democrats that Trump had demanded.

‘‘He loves your Sondland told Trump.

‘‘That’s how President Trump and I communicate,’’ Sondland explained yesterday, suggesting a lockerroom camaraderie. ‘‘A lot of four-letter words.’’ Last week, Trump said he did not remember Sondland’s call from the Kyiv restaurant ‘‘at all.’’

But, he added, ‘‘I guess Sondland has stayed with testimony that there was no quid pro quo.’’ But Sondland did not stick with that testimony.

Yesterday, he gave Trump only a small thread to hang on. He said many of Trump’s demands were channelled indirectly, through his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani.

‘‘We did not want to work with Giuliani,’’ he said, but Trump demanded it.

– LA Times ass,’’