This archive report was first published on 28 November 2019.
November 28, 2019, marked a significant day in the ongoing impeachment proceedings against President Trump, with the publication of allegations against Gordon D. Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union. Three women have come forward, accusing Sondland of making unwanted sexual advances towards them years before his recent testimony.
The women, Jana Solis, Natalie Sept, and Nicole Vogel, shared their accounts with ProPublica and Portland Monthly, which published them online in a joint investigative project. The allegations surfaced exactly one week after Sondland appeared before Congress and gave testimony about Trump's dealings with Ukraine and a 'quid pro quo.'
Sondland, 62, a businessman and hotelier, contributed $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee. The report identified the three women, who confirmed that their accounts in the report were accurate. They told the magazine that it felt like Sondland had retaliated against them after they rejected his advances.
Ms. Sept said that she had been 'haunted by this experience — especially since seeing Sondland's confirmation as ambassador.' She stated, 'I never met either of the other two women, yet each of our stories contained corroborative elements, which were recounted in the ProPublica and Portland Monthly story. I'm coming forward now so other women can tell their stories, and be believed.'
Mr. Sondland disputed the women's allegations and questioned their timing in a statement posted on his personal website, saying that they were at odds with his character. He stated, 'These untrue claims of unwanted touching and kissing are concocted and, I believe, coordinated for political purposes. They have no basis in fact, and I categorically deny them.'
The allegations against Sondland include claims of unwanted touching and kissing, as well as accusations of forcibly exposing himself to one of the women. Ms. Vogel, the owner of Portland Monthly, told the magazine that she approached Sondland in 2003 about investing in a magazine start-up, but he tried to forcibly kiss her after asking for a hug.
Ms. Solis, 58, told the magazine that Sondland exposed himself to her during a 2008 visit to his home in Portland, where she said he had invited her to evaluate his art collection. Ms. Sept, 35, said Sondland tried to forcibly kiss her after a 2010 networking dinner meeting with him.
