State Dept Blocks Ambassador Sondland From Testifying Before Congress About Ukraine

President Trump explains why Sondland shouldn't testify.

@realDonaldTrump
I would love to send Ambassador Sondland, a really good man and great American, to testify, but unfortunately he would be testifying before a totally compromised kangaroo court, where Republican’s rights have been taken away, and true facts are not allowed out for the public to see. Importantly, Ambassador Sondland’s tweet, which few report, stated, “I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind.” That says it ALL!

The State Department has barred Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the EU, from testifying before Congress on Tuesday. He was scheduled to appear before a few House committees and answer questions about his role in the controversy over Ukraine as part of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. And he had already made the trip to Washington.

The whistleblower complaint against Trump last month described a phone conversation between him and Ukrainian President Zelensky regarding Joe Biden and his son Hunter's ties to Ukraine. According to the whistleblower's secondhand knowledge, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens' relationship to a corrupt Ukrainian gas company. Some reports suggested Trump had also threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine, and therefore was guilty of quid pro quo. But, the phone transcript, which the White House released, did not provide credence to that claim. Trump also insists his asking Zelensky about Biden was about weeding about corruption, not politics.