US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he does not know well US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland well and that Sondland's testimony in the impeachment inquiry hearing shows there was no quid pro quo in Trump's dealing with Ukraine
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he does not know well US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland well and that Sondland's testimony in the impeachment inquiry hearing shows there was no quid pro quo in Trump's dealing with Ukraine."I don't know him very well, I have not spoken to him much, this is not a man I know well," Trump said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sondland testified before the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee and said the leadership of the State Department, National Security Council and the White House "were all informed" about his activities in Ukraine from May 23 until US security aid for country was released on September 11.
Trump cited Sondland's testimony on Wednesday as confirming that he wanted nothing from Ukraine and there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the Ukrainian leaders.
Trump added that Sondland's testimony should mean "it's all over" with respect to the impeachment inquiry.
However, Sondland said he believed the resumption of US security aid to Ukraine was tied to the country's commitment to conduct investigations of Trump's political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
In September, House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower complaint claimed Trump may have abused the power of office. The complaint alleged that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the July 25 phone call to investigate the Bidens.
Trump released the transcript of the telephone conversation and said there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the Ukrainian president. Trump has characterized the impeachment inquiry as yet another political witch hunt by Democrats aimed at reversing the result of the 2016 presidential election.
