Gordon Sondland’s allegedly “dramatic” testimony on Capitol Hill today wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.
The US Ambassador to the EU released his opening statement ahead of beginning his testimony, allowing social media users and the cable news industry to pick out all of the juiciest parts for immediate spin control.
Then came his cross examination by House Republicans, with a new notable names like Jim Jordan completely scorching Sondland.
One curious piece of testimony, however, has some concerned that the Ambassador may have again perjured himself.
Here’s what Sondland said:
Sondland testified that he specifically spoke to Pence about the hold on financial aid to Ukraine prior to a meeting with Ukranian President Volodymyr Volynsky.
“I mentioned to Vice President Pence before the meetings with the Ukrainians that I had concerns that the delay in aid had become tied to the issue of investigations,” he said.
This compelled the White House to make a statement regarding Sondland’s testimony.
“Ambassador Gordon Sondland was never alone with Vice President Pence on the September 1 trip to Poland,” Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, said in a statement to reporters. “This alleged discussion recalled by Ambassador Sondland never happened.”
“The Vice President never had a conversation with Gordon Sondland about investigating the Bidens, Burisma, or the conditional release of financial aid to Ukraine based upon potential investigations,” he said.
Sondland had, after his previous private testimony, revised his deposition after admitting to misremembering key facts that were resurrected in subsequent conversations with involved parties.
His credibility as a witness was directly questioned during today’s public affair, by the aforementioned Jordan among others.
