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President Donald Trump has recalled Gordon Sondland and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, two senior officials who testified against him at his impeachment trial.

Gordon Sondland, the US envoy to the EU, said he “was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately”.

Just hours earlier, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a top expert on Ukraine, was escorted from the White House.

President Trump is said to desire a staff shake-up after senators cleared him in the impeachment case on February 5.

In its historic vote, the Senate decided not to remove Donald Trump, America’s 45th president, from office on charges arising from his dealings with Ukraine.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, a senior lawyer for the National Security Council, was also sent back to the Department of the Army on February 7.

In a statement issued by his lawyer, Gordon Sondland said: “I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States ambassador to the European Union.

“I am grateful to President Trump for having given me the opportunity to serve, to Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo for his consistent support, and to the exceptional and dedicated professionals at the US mission to the European Union.

“I am proud of our accomplishments. Our work here has been the highlight of my career.”

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman had reportedly turned up for work at the White House as usual on February 5.

As he left the executive mansion on February 5 for North Carolina, President Trump told reporters: “I’m not happy with him [Lt. Col. Vindman].

“You think I’m supposed to be happy with him? I’m not.”

President Donald Trump has so far not commented further.

According to White House sources, Alexander Vindman had been expecting a transfer. He was telling colleagues for weeks that he was ready to move back to the defense department, where he still holds active-duty soldier status.

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On February 5, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters his department welcomes back all of its personnel from assignment.

He added: “And as I said we protect all of our service members from retribution or anything like that.”

Testifying in Congress last November, Gordon Sondland was very clear in his testimony that a White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was conditional on Kyiv launching investigations that could be politically helpful to President Trump.

He said: “Was there a quid pro quo [a favor granted in return for something]?

“As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.”

Gordon Sondland was at that time working with President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Ukrainian policy at the explicit direction of the president.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman also testified last November. He said he was “concerned” after hearing President Trump’s “improper” phone call on July 25, 2019 with Ukraine’s president.

The call led to Presidnet Trump’s impeachment in December by the House for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Democratic lawmakers argued that President Trump had dangled US aid in exchange for political favors.

When asked how he had overcome his fear of retaliation in order to testify, Alexander Vindman testified: “Congressman, because this is America… and here, right matters.”

President Trump mentioned the Vindman twins in a tirade against his political enemies at the White House one day before ousting them.

Eliot Engel, Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement: “This is shameful of course.

“But this is also what we should now expect from an impeached president whose party has decided he is above the law and accountable to no one. “

However, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie said he would have fired Alexander Vindman.

He said: “He’s a leaker, not a whistleblower.

“Current Commander in Chief doesn’t take orders from a Lt Col!”

In his comments to media on February 5, President Trump said reports that his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney would be fired were “false”.

The president said: “I have a great relationship with Mick.”

North Carolina lawmaker Mark Meadows is being tipped by the Washington rumor mill as a replacement for Mick Mulvaney.

Mark Meadows, who is retiring from the House of Representatives where he led the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus, traveled with President Trump on Air Force One on February 5.

At a rare White House press conference in October, Mick Mulvaney appeared to implicate the president in an alleged corrupt deal with Ukraine.

The acting chief of staff told stunned reporters: “We do that all the time.”

President Trump was reportedly outraged by the gaffe.

Mick Mulvaney then walked back his comments in a written statement that said: “Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election.”

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Image source: Wikipedia

US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland has been accused by three women of sexual misconduct.

The accusations, co-published by Portland Monthly magazine and ProPublica, date back to before he became an ambassador.

At the time of the alleged incidents Gordon Sondland was developing hotels in Portland and Seattle in the Pacific Northwest.

Gordon Sondland denies all of the allegations, and accuses the women of targeting him for his role in President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings.

He said in a statement: “These untrue claims of unwanted touching and kissing are concocted and, I believe, co-ordinated for political purposes.

“They have no basis in fact, and I categorically deny them.”

All three women said Gordon Sondland retaliated against them professionally after they rejected his advances – by verbally abusing them at their workplace, reneging on a promised investment, and withdrawing offers of professional introductions.

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One of the women, Nicole Vogel, said she met Gordon Sondland for dinner in 2003 in order to secure investment for her new magazine.

Nicole Vogel is the owner of Portland Monthly. The magazine said she was not involved editorially in the story, and it had teamed up with ProPublica, a respected non-profit news group, to report the claims independently.

She said that after dinner Gordon Sondland took her to one of his hotels and invited her to see a room. He then requested a hug, she added, but instead “grabs my face and goes to kiss me”.

Nicole Vogel said she deflected him and left the hotel, and later received an email from Gordon Sondland changing the terms of his investment.

A second acuser, Jana Solis, said she met Gordon Sondland in 2008 when she was seeking work as a hotel safety expert.

When Sondland offered her the job, she said, he called her “my new hotel chick” and slapped her rear. She then said that on another occasion he invited her to his home in Portland to evaluate his art collection, before exposing himself.

On a third occasion, Sondland asked her to inspect his penthouse apartment and then forcibly kissed her, she said.

The third woman, Natalie Sept, was working in local politics in Portland for a candidate Gordon Sondland had donated money to.

After they were introduced through her boss, she claims Gordon Sondland invited her to dinner to discuss work opportunities. She said he asked for a hug at the end of the night, but then pushed himself towards her and tried to forcibly kiss her.

In response, Gordon Sondland described the article as “underhanded journalism” that was “fundamentally false”.

He said he intended to take legal action against the two publications.

Gordon Sondland provided key testimony at President Trump’s impeachment hearing last week, where he said he followed the president’s orders to pressure Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.