Former special counsel thinks Alexander Vindman will get Gordon Sondland in 'deep, deep legal trouble'
Things aren't looking good for U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, a former special counsel argues.
Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, will testify Tuesday about his concerns about the Trump administration's interactions with Kyiv. Vindman's opening statement contradicts Sondland's claims that he never discussed former Vice President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter, with any White House or State Department official and that he never encouraged Ukraine to investigate the Bidens over Hunter Biden's ties to Ukrainian gas company, Burisma.
Vindman's statement, on the other hand, claims Sondland stressed the importance of investigating the Bidens, Burisma, and Ukraine's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in the presence of Vindman and former NSC official Fiona Hill. Vindman will also testify that both he and Hill told Sondland his statements were inappropriate, which has been corroborated by testimony from both Hill and former U.S. diplomat to Ukraine Bill Taylor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Ryan Goodman, who once served as special counsel to the general counsel of the Department of Defense, thinks that spells bad news for Sondland, who could be in "deep, deep legal trouble" following Vindman's testimony. Stay tuned. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
