WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump's ambassador to the European Union testified on Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was "in the loop" throughout a monthslong effort by the president to pressure Ukraine to open political investigations into Democrats, directly implicating the secretary in the expanding scandal for the first time.
Speaking before the House Intelligence Committee in its impeachment inquiry, Gordon Sondland, a lifelong Republican, told lawmakers that he worked at the "express direction" of Trump to facilitate a quid pro quo with Ukraine _ conditioning a White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and possibly the release of lethal military assistance on Kyiv's public announcement of investigations _ with Pompeo's knowledge.
The ambassador shared texts and emails with the committee that showed direct communication with Pompeo and his top aides approving of the exchange and encouraging him to work with Rudolph Giuliani, the president's personal attorney not employed by the U.S. government.
