"We followed orders from the President," said Ambassador Sondland's testimony, creating a earthquake throughout Washington.

Sondland's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee was like a bomb that shook the shield protecting President Trump during the impeachment storm and enticed many other senior officials affected.

In front of a sizzling parliamentary committee and millions of television viewers, Sondland mentioned how Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, conditionaled with Ukraine to arrange a White House meeting for the President. Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

"I know that members of this committee often frame the ongoing issues with a simple question:" Is it 'collusion'? ", US Ambassador to the EU said. I have testified before ... the answer is yes ".

Sondland, a wealthy hotel owner and sponsor for Trump, was described as one of the three "musketeers" the government used to connect with Ukraine without the usual diplomatic channels. He is the witness that frightens the White House officials and this fear is completely grounded, observers estimate.

Dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt and red flower tie, Sondland took up the witness position at the testimony before the lower house at 9am, beginning to make the most explosive testimonies in the investigation. crime ever.

Sondland confirmed the opportunity to hold a White House Oval meeting between Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Trump depends on whether Ukraine investigates Burisma. Burisma is an energy company connected to Hunter Biden, the son of former US Vice President Joe Biden, Trump's biggest rival in the race to the White House in 2020. The Trump administration also asked Zelensky to investigate the server. of a California-based cybersecurity firm hired by the Democratic Party in 2016 to find out if the email was stolen.

"" Giuliani's request was a collusion in order to arrange a visit to the White House for President Zelenskiy, "Sondland said." Giuliani asked Ukraine to issue a public statement on Burisma-related investigations and servers. of the Democratic National Committee. Giuliani has expressed the desire of the US President and we all know these investigations are important to the President. "

Sondland admitted he had never heard from Trump directly that US $ 400 million in security aid to Ukraine was related to the Zelenskiy administration's announcement of investigations. The conclusion he came up with was just "personal speculation". But Sondland also added that by early September, "everyone was clearly aware of a link".

For his part, President Trump still seeks to deny the seriousness of Sondland's testimony.

"I told the Ambassador that I didn't want anything," Trump told reporters as he prepared to board a Marine One helicopter at the White House yesterday. "I don't want anything. I don't want the reciprocity agreement. I just want President Zelenskiy to do the right thing."

The Trump impeachment investigation conducted by the lower house may bring him to trial in the Senate, but given the fact that the Republicans are in the majority of the Senate, they are more likely to "drop the cotton" and hold him. in place.

The testimony from Sonland also raises questions about the future of Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, who fiercely promotes investigations in Ukraine despite not having any formal diplomatic role. Giuliani refused to testify as well as hand over documents for impeachment investigations despite receiving a subpoena.

According to a testimony from Sondland, Trump once told him to "talk to Rudy" about Ukraine and he was reluctant to agree, even though it was inappropriate to discuss it through the President's personal lawyer.

"We do not want to work with Giuliani. But to put it simply, we have to adapt. Therefore, we follow orders from the President," the US Ambassador said.

Sondland firmly denied his involvement in "engaging in some unusual or rogue foreign policies" contrary to the White House policy, insisting he always reported all activities to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Security Council. national security.

"It is all in the circle," Sondland said at the hearing. "That's not a secret".

The circle that Sondland mentioned included Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

Vice President Mike Pence's office quickly responded, saying he "had never had any dialogue with Gordon Sondland about the investigation of the Biden father and son, the Burisma energy company or the liberation conditions." financial aid for Ukraine based on potential investigations. "

Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokesman, denied that Sondland had once told Secretary Pompeo that Trump was trying to link aid to Ukraine to the investigation of political opponents.

Sondland also spoke on a phone call between him and President Trump from Kiev. Witnesses previously claimed they heard Trump ask, "Does he (President of Ukraine) agree to investigate?" and Sondland answered: "He will do it" because Zelenskiy will "do whatever you ask".

Yesterday, Sondland told the committee: "I cannot remember all the details. The White House did not let me see the telephone call that day."

"Actually, I would be surprised if the President did not mention the investigations ... However, I have no memory related to the discussion of Vice President Biden or his son in the and after the phone call ended, "said Sondland.

Despite the newly revealed shocking information, the Republican party is still with Trump. Devin Nunes, a Republican member at the House Intelligence Committee, denied the alleged "explosion" in Sondland's testimony, reiterating complaints that the Democratic Party refused to call Hunter to be a human. proof.

"In the frenzy of attacking the President, no conspiracy theory is too odd for the Democratic Party," Nunes said.

But their efforts do not seem to be enough to heal the wound. Adam Schiff, a Democrat member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Sondland: "This is an important moment in our investigation and the evidence he presented is really meaningful but it also causes no less trouble ".

Attorney George Conway, who often criticized Trump, fiancé of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, compared Sondland with key witnesses in hearings related to the Watergate scandal that led President Richard Nixon to resign. . "This is a moment of John Dean. It will live forever in American political history," he wrote.