Impeachment star witness Gordon Sondland accused of sexual misconduct
US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland made headlines earlier this month for his congressional testimony. Now, he’s making them for a different reason.
Sondland is being accused of “unwanted sexual contact” by three women. Their accusations were covered in an article published at ProPublica and in Portland Monthly.
Nicole Vogel, Natalie Sept, and Jana Solis all say they were subjected to improper behavior while trying to conduct business with Sondland at various points in the past.
Sondland categorically denied any wrongdoing on his part and replied via a statementposted to his personal website.
“An article on Ambassador Gordon Sondland, jointly published on November 27, 2019 by ProPublica and Portland Monthly Magazine, is fundamentally false and was produced with deceitful journalism methods far outside the bounds of basic ethical standards,” it began.
“Both the timing and sourcing of the reporting seem obviously intended to influence congressional proceedings in which Amb. Sondland is a witness.”
The statement then went on to try and discredit the three accusers.
It notes, “The primary source for the reporting, Nicole Vogel, is also the owner of the publication in which it appears, Portland Monthly.” This is described as “an outlandish conflict of interest.”
Claims of a political motive
The statement also alleges partisan motives, asserting that, “Ms. Vogel is a frequent Democratic party donor and close associate of Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who has spent many weeks maligning Amb. Sondland and threatening his company,” behavior that led to a Congressional Ethics Office complaint.
It goes on to say that, “A second source, Natalie Sept, has been similarly active in party politics and has been a political aide to Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who is also a stringent critic of the current administration and is demanding its removal.”
Additionally, the statement raises questions about the accuser’s timeline: “Ms. Solis also altered the date on her allegation by five years, first claiming it occurred in 2003 and then later saying it was 2008 – this despite insisting that contemporaneous conversations with a friend backed up her account.”
Sondland’s statement includes a threat to sue both ProPublica and Portland Monthly Magazine.
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