House Democrats on Tuesday issued a subpoena to a central witness in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump after he bowed to a State Department order to skip a deposition earlier in the day.
Gordon Sondland, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, had been expected to testify Tuesday morning as part of an expanding impeachment probe by three House committees related to Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump endorsed the decision to block Sondland's testimony in a tweet, accusing Democrats of running a “kangaroo court.”
Now Democrats have subpoenaed Sondland for his testimony and documents that they say are being withheld by the State Department. The subpoena demands those documents be turned over by Oct. 14, and that Sondland sit for a deposition on Oct. 16 before three congressional panels.
"We consider this interference to be obstruction of the impeachment inquiry," Reps. Adam Schiff, Elijah Cummings and Eliot Engel — the Democratic chairmen leading the investigation — said in a joint statement.
Sondland was identified in recently released text messages with other diplomats discussing an effort by Trump to pressure Ukrainian leaders to investigate Biden and his son Hunter — possibly by withholding military aid and a White House visit.
“As the sitting U.S. Ambassador to the EU and employee of the State Department, Ambassador Sondland is required to follow the Department’s direction,” his attorney, Robert Luskin, said in a statement. “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.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though Sondland, through his lawyer, expressed hope that he would still be permitted to testify, the move to block his appearance is an indication the Trump administration is continuing efforts to prevent officials from cooperating with any congressional inquiries. Democrats have already indicated they consider these efforts to be evidence of obstruction.
Trump embraced the decision to block Sondland from appearing before House investigators.
"I would love to send Ambassador Sondland, a really good man and great American, to testify, but unfortunately he would be testifying before a totally compromised kangaroo court, where Republican’s rights have been taken away, and true facts are not allowed out for the public to see," Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
Sondland, according to text messages provided to Congress by former U.S. representative to Ukraine Kurt Volker, appeared to be involved in discussions surrounding a potential September White House visit for newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — as well as discussions about withholding that visit amid efforts by Trump to press Zelensky to investigate the Bidens for dealings in Ukraine.
In the exchange, Sondland denied the existence of a quid pro quo, but he also said Trump appeared focused on achieving a “deliverable” before agreeing to meet with Zelensky. The text chain also included discussion of whether military aid was being withheld from Ukraine to force Zelensky to comply.
Trump, in his tweets on Tuesday morning, highlighted the text in which Sondland denied an extortion attempt.
"Importantly, Ambassador Sondland’s tweet, which few report, stated, 'I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind.' That says it ALL!" Trump wrote.
The news that Sondland was being blocked from testifying came a day after two associates of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani — who has spent months urging Ukraine to investigate the Bidens — also indicated they would not appear for scheduled depositions this week.
Democrats say moves by the White House to block their investigations could feed an obstruction of Congress article of impeachment against Trump, and the stonewalling also raises significant obstacles to unearthing new information about the allegations about Trump’s interactions with Ukraine — a matter that has accelerated the House’s drive toward impeachment.
Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, repeated that assertion Tuesday morning, speaking to reporters in the Capitol where he denounced the move. Schiff said the committee had been blindsided by Sondland's refusal to appear, telling reporters there were "conversations well into yesterday afternoon and evening with the State Department legal adviser where there was no indication that this ambassador would be a no-show."
The chairman also ripped the State Department for withholding material Sondland had turned over, calling them "deeply relevant" to the impeachment inquiry.
"It is hard to overstate the significance of not just Ambassador Sondland's testimony and documents but the testimony of others as well. The failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of Congress, a co-equal branch of government," he said.
One of the president's top congressional allies, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), also expressed disappointment that Sondland would not be testifying, claiming his testimony would have reinforced Trump's narrative of events.
But "we understand the reason why the State Department decided not to have Ambassador Sondland appear today," Jordan said, before slamming Schiff. "It's based on the unfair and partisan process that Mr. Schiff has been running."
Nahal Toosi, Anita Kumar and Caitlin Oprysko contributed to this report.