House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks to reporters during a break in the testimony by U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland before a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said on Wednesday that morning testimony from European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland was a very important moment in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

“It goes right to the heart of the issue of bribery as well as other potential high crimes and misdemeanors,” Schiff told reporters. “But we also have heard for the first time that knowledge of this scheme was pervasive.”

He then said it was “a very important moment in the history of this inquiry.”