WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump had dismissed Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified in the impeachment inquiry, days after a divided Senate acquitted Trump on impeachment charges, U.S. media reported Friday.
Sondland said in a statement that Trump "intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union."
The ambassador expressed his gratitude to Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the statement, saying "our work here has been the highlight of my career," according to the statement acquired by U.S. media.
Sondland's dismissal came just hours after Alexander Vindman, an expert in National Security Council who also testified about Trump's contacts with Ukraine, was escorted out of the White House complex.
Trump was alleged to have pressured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could have politically benefited him by withholding military aid from Ukraine.
Last November, Sondland said in a hearing that Trump conditioned a White House meeting for Ukraine's president on his assurance to conduct an investigation into Trump's Democratic rivals.
"I know that members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: 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 a public House hearing.
The Democratic-led House impeached Trump last December over his interaction with Ukraine, while the president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or a "quid pro quo" with Kiev.
Trump was acquitted on Wednesday afternoon by the Senate after the chamber voted down both articles of impeachment against him that the House approved in late 2019.
