United States envoy to the European Union Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators on Wednesday that he worked with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine at the “express direction” of President Donald Trump and pushed a “quid pro quo” with Kiev because it was what Trump wanted.
He also said he kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top administration officials aware of his dealings with Ukraine on the investigations Trump sought into Democrat Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
“Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland testified in opening remarks. “It was no secret.”
The revelations took Twitter by storm, with prominent journalists and media persons commenting on the testimony which implicates high ranking US officials. “This is Sondland’s line for throwing everyone under the bus: ‘Again, everyone was in the loop,’ tweeted journalist Yamiche Alcindor. “It appears Gordon Sondland has made Quid Pro Quo Great Again!” tweeted Rick Smith, a radio presenter.
With inputs from AP