Key Trump impeachment witness sues for reimbursement of legal fees

Former EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland is suing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for legal fees he incurred during President Donald Trump's first impeachment probe.

Former Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is accusing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of reneging on a promise to reimburse legal fees he incurred during President Donald Trump's first impeachment probe, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court. A hotel magnate and political megadonor whom Trump tapped in 2018 to be his envoy to Brussels, Sondland emerged as a key witness during the 2019 impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, offering explosive testimony that allegedly implicated Trump and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in seeking to coerce Ukrainian leaders to announce an investigation into the family of then-presidential contender Joe Biden. Sondland told the House Intelligence Committee in November 2019 that Trump sought a quid pro quo with Ukraine, carried out by Giuliani. The revelation came after Sondland revised his previous testimony after he said other witnesses "refreshed my recollection about conversations involving the suspension of U.S. aid."