Forbes: “Gordon Sondland, a hotelier-turned-ambassador, halted his once-prolific political giving after getting caught up in the scandal surrounding President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. For years, Sondland had been a reliable donor, shelling out more than $537,000 to federal campaigns (mostly Republican) from 1984 to 2019. When Trump won the election in 2016, Sondland contributed $1 million to the inaugural committee through four LLCs, according to data obtained by OpenSecrets. In March 2018, Trump nominated Sondland to be the EU ambassador.”
“Yet Sondland’s largesse halted in March 2019 – just a few months before his major role in Trump’s attempt to pressure the government of Ukraine into announcing an investigation into Joe Biden’s family came to light. At first, Sondland disputed accounts that military aid to Ukraine had been contingent on the European country trumpeting an inquiry into Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son. But Sondland later reversed himself and implicated the president in a quid pro quo. Two days after the Senate acquitted Trump, he fired Sondland. ‘Ambassador Sondland chose to cease any and all political donations during and since his period of service,’ said a spokesperson for Provenance, the hotel business Sondland founded and chairs.”