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The White House has toughened on Tuesday the confrontation with congressional Democrats by preventing the US ambassador to the European Union from testifying for their investigation into an explosive procedure of impeachment against Republican President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump justified this decision by calling the opposition's congressional hearings into the " bogus court " case in Ukraine. " I would love to send ambassador Sondland, a very good man and a great American, to testify, but unfortunately he would testify before a bogus court totally biased, " he tweeted.
For Democrats, the absence of the ambassador on Tuesday morning, a " key player " in the Ukrainian affair, and the fact that he did not deliver the expected documents represent " new strong evidence of an obstacle to the constitutional functions of the Congress, "responded Adam Schiff, chairman of the powerful Committee on Intelligence in the House of Representatives.
It was the US State Department that asked the ambassador " not to appear today " in the testimony provided in the House, according to his lawyer Robert Luskin who did not specify the reasons for this decision . Coming from Brussels to Washington for this deposition, Gordon Sondland " hopes that the issues raised by the State Department " to prevent him from testifying " will be resolved quickly, " his lawyer said in a statement.
Democrats suspect Trump of abuse of power
The ambassador had " previously agreed to be heard voluntarily, without the need for an injunction, to answer the questions " of the commissions leading the investigation to the lower house, according to his lawyer. Rich hotel professional, Gordon Sondland helped finance the campaign and the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump, which he became close.
The opposition suspects the US president of pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky this summer to seek compromising information on his Democratic rival Joe Biden. The Democrats suspect Donald Trump of having abused his power for personal electoral purposes, then of trying to quash the affair.
Gordon Sondland participated in SMS exchanges on Ukraine, handed over to Congress last week by former United States special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker, who comforted the Democrats in their suspicions. " We know that Ambassador Sondland has been a key player in efforts to get Ukraine's commitment to investigate a fallacious conspiracy theory regarding the 2016 presidential election as well as Joe Biden and his son Hunter, " according to Adam Schiff.
(With AFP)