Gordon Sondland expected to testify that Trump denied withholding Ukraine aid

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will reportedly testify to Congress next week that President Trump assured him he was not withholding military aid to Ukraine until Kyiv investigated former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, a personal familiar with Sondland's testimony told The Washington Post.

Sondland will reportedly say that a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine came after he spoke with Trump, who told him there was no such thing, and that he is unsure as to why the aid was held up. He will also testify that he has no knowledge as to whether Trump may have changed his mind on the matter at some point, the Post reports, though he did believe Trump at the time and reportedly relied on the president's words in "good faith" when he relayed the information to William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine. Taylor had expressed concern about the ethics of withholding aid.

"It's only true that the president said it, not that it was the truth," the person familiar with the planned testimony told the Post, referring to Trump's assurances about the aid. "Whether he's deciding it's getting too hot to handle and he backs off whatever his position really was a month earlier, I don't know." Sondland plans to testify Thursday. Read more at The Washington Post and NBC News.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up