Democrats to subpoena Gordon Sondland, say Trump's move to block deposition amounts to obstruction

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Tue Oct 8, 2019, 06:21 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: Washington Post

The Trump administration on Tuesday blocked a planned deposition from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union and a central figure in the Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Democrats called the administration's move an act of obstruction and said they would issue a subpoena for Sondland's testimony, as well as emails and text messages that Sondland held on a personal device and that have been turned over to the State Department, which has yet to release them.

In a trove of text messages that were turned over to the House by another former official, Sondland emerged as a central player in the Trump administration's efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations of the president's political rivals. Democrats accused President Trump of hiding information about his efforts to make military aide and other U.S. support to Ukraine conditioned upon those investigations. Democrats had earlier said that any attempt to block statements from witnesses, including Sondland, could constitute an impeachable act. Sondland was scheduled to be deposed Tuesday morning , his lawyer, Robert Luskin, said in a statement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week rebuked efforts by the committees to interview Sondland and other officials, saying Democratic lawmakers had "harassed and abused State Department employees" by contacting them directly. But Sondland was willing to testify and didn't appear on Tuesday at the direction of the State Department, Luskin said.

"As the sitting U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. and employee of the State Department, Ambassador Sondland is required to follow the Department's direction," Luskin said. "Ambassador Sondland is profoundly disappointed that he will not be able to testify today. Ambassador Sondland traveled to Washington from Brussels in order to prepare for his testimony and to be available to answer the Committee's questions."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/gordon-sondland-key-us-official-in-political-storm-over-ukraine-to-be-deposed-in-impeachment-inquiry/2019/10/07/c3c1703e-e942-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html

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EDIT: The subpoena has issued and can be viewed here (PDF) - https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2019-10-08.EEC%20Engel%20Schiff%20to%20Sondland%20re%20Subpoena.pdf


Original article and headline -

House panels to issue subpoena to Gordon Sondland, ambassador to E.U., after Trump administration blocks deposition to Congress

By Shane Harris and John Wagner
Oct. 8, 2019 at 11:53 a.m. EDT

BREAKING NEWS: House panels to issue subpoena to Gordon Sondland, ambassador to E.U., after Trump administration blocks deposition to Congress.

"We consider this interference to be obstruction of the impeachment inquiry," the three committee chairmen said in a statement Tuesday. "We will be issuing subpoena to Ambassador Sondland for both his testimony and documents."

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee chairman; Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the statement hours after Sondland was a no-show on Capitol Hill.

This is a developing news story and will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/gordon-sondland-key-us-official-in-political-storm-over-ukraine-to-be-deposed-in-impeachment-inquiry/2019/10/07/c3c1703e-e942-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. That's the way you do it! Turnaround game is about 4 hours! n/t

[Thunderbeast]

2. I have a sudden urge

to walk downtown with a sign and picket this crook's hotel.

DON'T RENT ROOMS FROM TRAITORS!

[Duckandcover]

3. This isn't how an innocent person acts

That should be the headline on every story about the House’s inquiries and the Administration’s attempt to derail them.

[cstanleytech]

4. Of course he's obstructing but would a court agree? I'd doubt it.

Why? Because no subpoena was involved.

[BlueWI]

5. The attorney's statement is quite revealing.

The attorney publicly stated his disagreement with his client's inability to testify. Clearly, he sees that his client's interests are different that those of the White House.