Ambassador breaks with Trump, testifying the President directed diplomats to work with Giuliani on Ukraine

was directed by President Donald Trump to work with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine, he plans to tell Congress Thursday, and was left with a choice: Abandon efforts to bolster a key strategic alliance or work to satisfy the demands of the President's personal lawyer.

Sondland's testimony Thursday comes as he's under fire for his role in the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky, in which Trump repeatedly urged Zelensky to open an investigation into the Bidens. Sondland's testimony is likely to ratchet up the Democrats' focus on the concerns top officials expressed about Giuliani's involvement in Ukraine — and how they disagreed with Trump's assistance on using his private attorney to negotiate diplomatic efforts.

"I was not on that July 25, 2019 call and I did not see a transcript of that call until September 25, 2019, when the White House publicly released it," Sondland will testify."None of the brief and general call summaries I received contained any mention of Burisma or former Vice President Biden, nor even suggested that President Trump had made any kind of request of President Zelensky.

But he also plans to testify that Giuliani told the diplomats that the statement needed the two investigations"of importance for the President." "I asked the President: 'What do you want from Ukraine?' The President responded, 'Nothing. There is no quid pro quo,'" Sondland will testify."The President repeated: 'no quid pro quo' multiple times. This was a very short call. And I recall the President was in a bad mood.

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