The Saga of Gordon Sondland

<p>Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, told impeachment investigators he knew “nothing” about a quid pro quo in Ukraine. </p><p>Now Mr. Sondland, a blunt-spoken hotelier, has changed tack. In a new four-page sworn statement released by the House, he confirmed his role in communicating President Trump’s demand that Ukraine investigate the Bidens in exchange for military aid. </p><p>Today, we discuss the road to Mr. Sondland’s sudden reversal, and what his new testimony means for the impeachment investigation.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-s-schmidt?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Michael S. Schmidt</a>, a Washington correspondent for The Times who covers national security and federal investigations. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/us/politics/impeachment-trump.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Mr. Sondland’s reversal</a> offers a potentially critical piece of evidence to investigators trying to determine whether Mr. Trump abused his power.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/arts/television/late-night-gordon-sondland.html" target="_blank">Late-night show hosts mocked Mr. Sondland</a>, saying he had reversed his testimony after remembering “one important detail: that I don’t want to go to jail for perjury.”</li></ul>