WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three women on Tuesday accused US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sundland, who testified at the proceedings of President Donald Trump's impeachment proceedings, of improper sexual behavior.
Sundeland denied the accusations, stressing that they were "false allegations and fabricated for political motives."
The three women, in an article published in the magazine «Portland Manthli» names, that the wealthy Sundeland, who owns a hotel chain, and comes from Seattle, responded professionally when they refused to meet his sexual desires.
One of them, Jana Solis, said she met Sundland in 2008, when she was looking for work as a hotel security expert. She explained that Sundeland met her for lunch, and offered to work in his hotel «new elegant», before slapping her on the back.
He then invited her to his home in Portland to assess his collection of art, including a photo of him with former President George W. Bush. During the visit he stood naked in the pool of the house. At a later meeting, he tried to kiss her by force, Solis said. Another woman, Nicolas Vogel, said she met Sundland in 2003 at a dinner to get an investment for a new magazine. She said he then took her to a hotel, invited her to see a room, asked to hug her, and then "grabbed my face and tried to kiss me." She explained that she refused to comply with him and left the place.
Ms. Sundland then sent her an e-mail, rejecting her request to fund her project. In a statement, Sundeland denied all the charges and accused Vogel of "unfair journalism," expressing outrage at his refusal to fund her project.
He said that «these false allegations of contact and kissing forcefully fabricated, and I think they are coordinated politically motivated», stressing that «in fact, baseless, and categorically deny».
Vogel owns the Portland Monthly magazine, which published the article. The magazine reported that, because of its relevance to the case, it co-published it with the nonprofit media group Propylica, known for its investigative work.
A lawyer for Sundland told the magazine that the timing of the article's publication meant it was intended to damage the credibility of the ambassador in the ongoing investigation to isolate Trump.
Sundeland made a $ 1 million contribution to President Trump's inauguration and was later appointed US ambassador to the European Union.
However, on 20 November Sundeland noted Trump's direct involvement in a plot to force Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden. In a resounding testimony to Trump's dismissal, Sundland said he had ordered Trump to make a deal with Ukraine to investigate Biden in exchange for a summit between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelinsky at the White House.
The Democrats said Sundeland's testimony strongly supports evidence of abuse of power that justifies Trump's removal.
Trump sought to distance himself from Sundeland. "I don't know him well," he said.