One day after warning of “retribution” against his political foes, President Donald Trump fired Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

The Portland developer became a key witness during House-led proceedings to impeach Trump. Sondland was ousted Friday within hours of another prominent witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

Both delivered critical testimony about the president’s dealings with Ukraine. Although the House voted to impeach Trump -- driven in part by Sondland’s testimony -- the Republican-held Senate ended the proceedings Wednesday by voting to acquit.

Trump signaled his plans for retribution during a prayer breakfast on Thursday where he called the impeachment inquiry “evil” and “corrupt,” and launched into a lengthy diatribe against various lawmakers, political opponents and former FBI officials.

Sondland confirmed his firing in a public statement Friday afternoon.

His emergence as a key witness for Democrats stood counter to his decades of donating to Republican causes and candidates, starting with George H.W. Bush. He donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and was appointed to the Brussels post the next year.

“I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union,” Sondland said.

Only hours earlier, Vindman had been escorted from the White House by security officers after he was fired, according to several news sources.

Members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation condemned Trump’s move.

“Firing Ambassador Sondland and a hero like Lt. Vindman for telling the truth is yet more abuse of power by the president,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, who testified in support of Sondland’s nomination to the ambassadorship in June 2018.

“These self-serving acts won’t stop until Donald Trump is out of office, or Republicans finally decide to stand up against this petty retaliation.”

House lawmakers first subpoenaed Sondland to testify during the impeachment proceedings in September. He appeared in a closed-door session Oct. 8, days after he defied the administration’s order not to appear.

He returned to Capitol Hill in November during televised hearings and delivered damning testimony that would be repeated often by Democratic lawmakers. Sondland said he was aware of a quid pro quo deal between the U.S. and Ukraine.

“Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes,” Sondland said during the Nov. 20 hearing.

Sondland testified that some of the nation’s highest-ranking officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and National Security Advisor John Bolton, knew Trump wanted Ukraine’s president to commit to an investigation that would target Joe Biden, Trump’s potential political rival. In exchange, the U.S. would deliver $391 million in promised military assistance.

Sondland also attempted to shield Trump during his testimony. He said Trump repeatedly insisted on “no quid pro quo.” Trump wrote down the phrase on paper and showed the message reporters as evidence of his innocence.

Vindman was a member of the National Security Council and one of the first White House officials to break with Trump. Like Sondland, Vindman was subpoenaed to appear before Congress. "In Spring of 2019, I became aware of outside influencers promoting a false and alternative narrative of Ukraine inconsistent with the consensus views of the interagency," he said in his opening statement.

Trump supporters complained that members of the “Deep State” were conspiring to hurt Trump.

Sondland may have known his days as an ambassador were numbered, particularly after the Senate took over the impeachment process in January.

Sondland continued to represent the U.S. in foreign policy talks and hosted Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in Brussels. But his official Twitter account has been silent for nine days, ever since Sondland came out in support of Trump’s plan to promote peace between Israel and Palestine.

Sondland built a reputation in Portland as a shrewd investor. Hotel and real estate deals made him a multimillionaire who earns millions more each year. He gave a fraction of that money to local politicians and state campaigns, but overwhelmingly funneled his political donations to Washington D.C., eyeing a national post.

It’s unclear what kind of reception awaits him when he returns to Portland, where his hotel chain is based downtown near two of the properties it operates.

After Sondland became a key figure in the impeachment proceedings, U.S. Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer called for a boycott of Sondland’s hotels. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also donated the campaign contributions Sondland gave him during his political races to other nonprofits.

Portland Monthly reported in December that three women alleged Sondland made unwanted sexual contact with them before he became ambassador. He denied all of the allegations.

This story has been updated to provide additional context.

-- Molly Young

myoung@oregonian.com

-- Jeff Manning

jmanning@oregonian.com

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