Gordon Sondland, the former US ambassador to the European Union who testified during the first impeachment of Donald Trump that Trump pressured Ukrainian government officials to assist Trump political campaign, sued the federal government and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for $1.8 million to cover his legal fees, the Washington Post reports.
Filed Monday in the District of Columbia, the suit alleges Pompeo reneged on a promise that the State Department would cover his legal fees because Sondland’s testified that Trump did pressure Ukrainian officials and he didn’t support Trump’s claim that nothing untoward happened. Pompeo also offered to make State Department lawyers available to Sondland, but the ambassador opted to use his own attorneys. Sondland claims that because he testified that Trump sought a quid pro quo – providing Ukraine military aid for helping Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s campaign find incriminating information on Hunter Biden – Pompeo left him hanging. “Ambassador Sondland confirmed he would not resign because he did not do anything improper. After that, everything changed. Ambassador Sondland did not receive his attorneys’ fees, notwithstanding the promises from the State Department that the attorneys’ fees would be paid,” the suit alleges. Sondland owned a number of Portland-area hotels and was a strong supporter of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, leading to his appoint as Ambassador to the European Union.