Read: Gordon Sondland’s opening statement for the impeachment hearing

“We followed the president’s orders,” Sondland says.

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, is testifying to the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday morning in the highest-stakes impeachment hearing yet — and his opening statement has now been released.

In it, Sondland confirms that there was a “quid pro quo” imposed on Ukraine, and says that he was carrying out the “orders” of President Donald Trump.

Sondland faced intense criticism for omissions and purported failures of recollection in his October closed-door testimony, and he already submitted an “addendum” to supplement it. This is the latest version of Sondland’s account (see rest of the article for full text of opening statement).