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Sondland's reversal on Ukraine aid reshaped inquiry
Summary
A retrospective on the revised testimony by the US ambassador to the EU, and the transcripts released a day earlier.
What changed in the US impeachment inquiry on 5 November 2019? Gordon Sondland, the United States Ambassador to the European Union, reversed his earlier testimony and admitted to a quid pro quo in the withholding of military aid for Ukraine.
The revision came a day after three House committees released the first transcripts from the closed-door depositions. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs published the testimony of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and former Ambassador to Brazil Michael McKinley, on 4 November 2019.
Yovanovitch said she felt threatened by President Donald Trump. McKinley said he had resigned because he was concerned about missions being engaged to procure negative political information for domestic purposes. He added that, apart from the Trump administration, he had never seen the State Department try to take part in such activity during his career.
Taken together, the two days brought Ukraine-related testimony into public view and recorded a change of account by a serving ambassador, as part of the inquiry into President Trump.
