Gordon Sondland to honor subpoena, testify before Congress

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, a key figure in the sprawling Ukraine matter, will testify before Congress next week, roughly a week after the White House initially blocked his testimony, his lawyer said Friday.

Mr. Sondland’s attorney Robert Luskin said in a statement that his client will honor a congressional subpoena and looks forward to testifying next Thursday.

“Ambassador Sondland has at all times acted with integrity and in the interests of the United States,” Mr. Luskin said. “He has no agenda apart from answering the committee’s questions fully and truthfully.”

However, Mr. Luskin cautioned that his client will not be turning over documents that he has provided to the State Department.

On Tuesday House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairmen Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat, said those documents are “highly relevant” to the impeachment inquiry.

Mr. Luskin said federal law and State Department regulations block his client from producing the materials.

“Ambassador Sondland does not control the disposition of the documents,” he said. “By federal law and regulation, the State Department has sole authority to produce such documents and Ambassador Sondland hopes the materials will be shared with committees in advance of this Thursday testimony.”

His testimony is part of the House impeachment inquiry that was launched after President Trump’s phone call with his counterpart in Ukraine in July. In a rough transcript released by the White House, Mr. Trump is shown asking the Ukrainian president to investigate political rival Joseph R. Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and his son Hunter’s dealings with an energy company there.

Mr. Sondland was quoted in some texts that were exchanged regarding the Ukraine investigation.

The ambassador was scheduled to testify Tuesday in the House impeachment inquiry, but he did not show up under direction from the White House.