'The Gordon Problem' set to testify in impeachment inquiry's main event

In a conspicuous moment during Tuesday's impeachment inquiry hearings, former National Security Council aide Tim Morrison testified that one of his colleagues urgently warned him about President Trump’s European Union ambassador, Gordon Sondland, and even coined a name for her concerns: “the Gordon problem.”

On Wednesday morning, it'll be Sondland's turn to testify as the impeachment probe's most anticipated witness, less than 24 hours after Republicans declared total victory in Tuesday afternoon's hearings. But it remained unclear whether the wealthy hotelier-turned-diplomat would pose a "problem" for Democrats, Republicans, or all of the above.

Sondland is more directly entangled than any witness yet in the president’s alleged efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's dealings in the country, including Biden's successful push to have Ukraine's top prosecutor fired by threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid. Yet Sondland has already amended his testimony once -- “I now do recall,” he said, talking to Ukraine about anti-corruption investigations — and has frustrated Democrats' efforts to build a consistent narrative of misconduct by the president.

Most notably, Sondland previously testified behind closed doors that Trump directly told him there were to be "no quid pro quos of any kind" with Ukraine, and that he didn’t recall any conversations with the White House about withholding military assistance in return for Ukraine helping with the president’s political campaign.

Then, William Taylor, the U.S. chargé d'affaires for Ukraine, told lawmakers that Sondland himself said "everything" — a White House visit for Ukraine's new leader and the release of military aid to the former Soviet republic — was contingent on a public announcement of investigations into the 2016 election and into Ukraine gas company Burisma Holdings. (Hunter Biden held a highly lucrative role on the board of Burisma, despite having little relevant experience, while his father oversaw Ukraine policy as vice president.)

Weeks later, after testimony from Taylor and Morrison placed him at the center of key discussions, Sondland amended his testimony and claimed his recollection had been "refreshed." Sondland said he now could recall a September conversation in which he told an aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that military aid likely would not occur until Ukraine made public announcements about corruption investigations. Sondland said he came to "understand" that arrangement from other sources.