E.U. Ambassador to Testify That Ex-Ukraine Ambassador Was 'Great' Despite Trump Ouster
U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will tell Congress on Thursday that he thought Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was “great” and that he has nothing negative to say about her performance as ambassador to Ukraine, despite her removal from the job by President Donald Trump.
A person with knowledge of Sondland’s testimony tells NBC News that Yovanovitch was an able and professional diplomat, and that he had no issues with her whatsoever. The person spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity.
Yovanovitch told House impeachment investigators last week that Trump personally pressured the State Department to have her removed from her position. Sondland is expected to testify under subpoena on Thursday as part of the impeachment inquiry.
Sondland will also testify that after he attended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s inauguration in May, he met with Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and former U.S. special envoy Kurt Volker in the Oval Office. In that meeting, Sondland will say, Trump told them that any in-person meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy would have to be approved by Rudy Giuliani.
Photo Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, File
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