By — Gretchen Frazee Gretchen Frazee Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-rep-jordan-defends-state-department-barring-u-s-envoy-from-testifying Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Republicans defend State Department barring U.S. envoy from testifying Politics Oct 8, 2019 11:40 AM EDT Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, defended the Trump administration’s decision Tuesday to bar the U.S. ambassador to the EU from testifying before House lawmakers. Text messages that were released last week revealed that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, discussed a potential deal between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president to investigate a company linked to the son of Trump’s 2020 political rival Joe Biden. Sondland failed to appear on Capitol Hill after the State Department ordered him not to testify. Republicans accused Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of “cherry picking” from the text messages and not being transparent during an inquiry into a whistleblower complaint. “We fully understand why the administration made the decision they did,” Jordan said. WATCH: Schiff says Sondland failing to testify is evidence of obstruction Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Rep. Jordan is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Gretchen Frazee Gretchen Frazee Gretchen Frazee is a Senior Coordinating Broadcast Producer for the PBS NewsHour. @gretchenfrazee
Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, defended the Trump administration’s decision Tuesday to bar the U.S. ambassador to the EU from testifying before House lawmakers. Text messages that were released last week revealed that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, discussed a potential deal between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president to investigate a company linked to the son of Trump’s 2020 political rival Joe Biden. Sondland failed to appear on Capitol Hill after the State Department ordered him not to testify. Republicans accused Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of “cherry picking” from the text messages and not being transparent during an inquiry into a whistleblower complaint. “We fully understand why the administration made the decision they did,” Jordan said. WATCH: Schiff says Sondland failing to testify is evidence of obstruction Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Rep. Jordan is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now