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SFGATE: US envoy says Giuliani was given role on Ukraine policy

US envoy says Giuliani was given role on Ukraine policy
Published on October 18, 2019 at 05:00AM by By ERIC TUCKER and MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the European Union told House impeachment investigators Thursday that President Donald Trump instructed him and other envoys to work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Ukraine policy and that he was "disappointed" by the directive. He spoke to lawmakers for around 10 hours.

Lawmakers leaving the closed-door deposition said there were gaps in his testimony, and said Sondland responded "I don't know" and "I don't recall" many times. But they said it was enlightening and damning as the political appointee and Trump donor described Giuliani's takeover of U.S. policy toward Ukraine.

"It is clear you have a shadow shakedown going on by Giuliani," said California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic member of the House intelligence panel. "I think it is just important for the American people to understand Rudy Giuliani is Donald Trump and Donald Trump is Rudy Giuliani. If Rudy Giuliani is doing something it is because he's the lawyer for Donald Trump, and lawyers don't take actions that are not authorized by their clients."

Sondland's closed-door testimony to three House committees was aimed at distancing himself from Trump and Giuliani's efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Sondland said he was concerned that the president delegated to Giuliani foreign policy responsibilities that he thought belonged to the State Department, but Sondland followed Trump's instructions anyway. He insisted that he played no role in encouraging investigations of Biden, telling lawmakers that he thought it improper to invite a foreign government to conduct criminal probes to influence American elections.

The ambassador was the latest in a series of witnesses to be privately interviewed by three House committees conducting the impeachment...

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