Last updated on May 26th, 2021 at 03:18 am
Gordon Sondland, former President Donald Trump‘s ambassador to the European Union, is suing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the State Department over unpaid legal fees. He is requesting $1.8 million in damages.
In his lawsuit, Sondlaid claims that Pompeo had promised him that the government would cover the costs of complying with a House subpoena stemming from Trump’s first impeachment stemming from allegations that he pressured Ukrainian leadership to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for military aid.
“Despite the fact that Ambassador Sondland was subpoenaed in his capacity as an official Government diplomat, Defendants bucked normal convention and denied him the services of any Government counsel,” the lawsuit reads.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
“This act was especially problematic in this instance because the amount of preparation needed to comply with the subpoenas was staggering,” it continues. “Ambassador Sondland was required to prepare for highly charged testimony under oath with international scrutiny without access to materials or anyone from the Government agencies which had knowledge of all the facts relevant to his testimony. Ambassador Sondland was forced to create a new team to reconstruct all the materials needed and to prepare for this daunting task.”
Skip Miller, Sondland’s attorney, says Sondland “harbors no ill will against†Pompeo but is “simply seeking reimbursement, as was promised by Secretary Pompeo.â€
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
