By the time Mr. Pence returned to Washington, the cease-fire agreement he negotiated had been roundly denounced as a capitulation to the Turkish president.
“It’s almost like they built this facility to host this type of event,” the acting White House chief of staff said, dismissing questions over the propriety of the president’s picking his own hotel.
Undercutting President Trump’s denial of a quid pro quo, the acting White House chief of staff told reporters that military aid was held back in part to prod Ukraine to investigate Democrats.
Gordon D. Sondland said in his prepared statement to House impeachment investigators that he was disappointed the president involved his personal lawyer in diplomacy with Kiev.
Undercutting President Trump’s denial of a quid pro quo, the acting White House chief of staff told reporters that military aid was held back in part to prod Ukraine to investigate Democrats.
The decision to host the economic summit at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Club is sure to alarm ethics watchdogs and critics of the administration.
The death of Elijah E. Cummings, one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry, casts a shadow over the proceedings. But Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, is still testifying.