Witness changes Ukraine evidence to accuse Trump
Ambassador to EU claims there was a quid pro quo to secure Biden investigation in return for military aid
A KEY witness in the Donald Trump impeachment inquiry has reversed his evidence, indicating he did believe there was a quid pro quo in which US military aid would be denied to Ukraine unless it publicly launched a corruption investigation into Joe Biden.
Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, had denied any knowledge of a link between the $391 million (£303 million) in aid and Mr Trump’s request that Ukraine launch an inquiry into his political rival. But in a revised statement he said: “In the absence of any credible explanation for the suspension of aid, I presumed that the aid suspension had become linked to the proposed anticorruption statement.”
Mr Sondland said that, after “refreshing my recollection”, he remembered telling a senior Ukrainian official on Sept 1 that the aid would “likely” be stopped unless there was an investigation into Mr Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.
His private testimony, and the amended statement, were released by the Democrat-led committee pursuing the impeachment inquiry.
The inquiry is primarily focused on a July 25 conversation between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president. Mr Trump froze the US military assistance to Ukraine shortly before speaking to Mr Zelenskiy, prompting accusations from Democrats that he had misused taxpayer money destined for a vulnerable US ally for personal political gain.
Mr Sondland detailed how in a phone call Mr Trump nearly hung up on him when he asked whether the White House was withholding the aid in return for an inquiry into Mr Biden.
The diplomat said that on Sept 1 he discussed the matter with Andriy Yermak, an adviser to Mr Zelenskiy. Mr Sondland said: “I said that resumption of the US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement.”
He said he believed the plan was “illadvised” but did not know “when, why or by whom the aid was suspended”.
Mr Sondland was asked by the committee if he thought the idea was illegal. He said: “I’m not a lawyer, but I assume so.” When asked a second time, he said it would be “improper”.
Mr Sondland said there was a plan to have Mr Zelenskiy announce an invquiry into Mr Biden on Fox News, a network Mr Trump “would obviously see”.
Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused Democrats of unfairly targeting him. A White House spokeswoman said Mr Sondland’s testimony showed there was “even less evidence for this illegitimate impeachment sham” than previously thought. “Ambassador Sondland said he ‘presumed’ there was a link to the [military] aid – but cannot identify any solid source for that assumption,” she said.
‘I said that resumption of aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement’