Sondland testifies about alleged Ukraine quid pro quo

WASHINGTON—Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House lawmakers Wednesday that he worked with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine at Trump’s “express direction.”

What are the impeachment hearings revealing? Sondland said he believed the president wanted Ukraine to pursue investigations that would benefit Trump politically. “Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’ As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes,” he said. But he also said he never heard Trump order a quid pro quo and the president denied wanting one in a conversation they had.

On Tuesday, former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testified that he did not see any political motivation behind Trump’s push to have Ukraine investigate a company with ties to the family of former Vice President Joe Biden. “In retrospect, I should have seen that connection differently,” he said. Earlier that morning, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, told lawmakers he “couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” when he listened in on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. National security official Tim Morrison also testified that he did not believe the president did anything illegal.

Dig deeper: Read Sondland’s opening statement and watch the hearing.