Fiona Hill told investigators yesterday that Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, was a potential national security risk because he was, in her view, completely unprepared for the job. Sondland is a Portland hotelier who donated more than $1m to the Donald Trump campaign in 2016, and was rewarded by Trump with appointment as US Ambassador to the European Union.
Describing Sondland, Hill spoke metaphorically of him as driving in an unfamiliar place with no guardrails and no GPS. Hill in her testimony said she raised her concerns with intelligence officials inside the White House.
Hill described her fears that Mr. Sondland represented a counterintelligence risk because his actions made him vulnerable to foreign governments who could exploit his inexperience. She told investigators that Sondland extensively used a personal cellphone for official diplomatic business and that he repeatedly told foreign officials they were welcome to come to the White House whenever they liked.
Sondland will testify tomorrow.
