US diplomat Ambassador Gordon Sondland has told the impeachment inquiry that he followed President Trump’s orders to put pressure on Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Mr Sondland, the US Ambassador to the EU, told the US House of Representatives the instruction came from Mr Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who also sought a public statement from Ukraine announcing a probe into “corruption issues”.
Mr Sondland confirmed that the president had sought an investigation in exchange for a White House visit for Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky which he called a quid pro quo.