State orders EU ambassador not to testify before House

A key witness in the House impeachment inquiry was ordered not to appear at a scheduled deposition on Tuesday, ramping up tensions between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration.

The State Department instructed Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland not to appear for the deposition, according to his counsel.

Sondland, a wealthy hotelier who had donated $1 million to President Trump's inaugural committee before taking his government position, was a figure in the text messages released by Democrats last week that showed administration officials discussing Trump's communications with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump's efforts to pressure Zelensky to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and the business dealings of his son Hunter have become the impetus for the impeachment inquiry.

Sondland's lawyer said his client was "profoundly disappointed" that the State Department did not allow him to testify and expressed hope that the issues raised by the agency would be resolved promptly to allow him to testify.

"Ambassador Sondland believes strongly that he acted at all times in the best interests of the United States, and he stands ready to answer the Committee’s questions fully and truthfully," Robert Luskin, Sondland's lawyer, said in a statement.

As a sitting U.S. ambassador, Luskin said his client had no choice but to follow the State Department's direction. He noted that Sondland had traveled to Washington from Brussels to appear.

Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine, testified before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees last week and provided text messages between himself, Sondland and William Taylor, a top official in the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.