One of the most powerful moments of Dr. Hill's testimony today was her explanation of an increasingly "testy" relationship between herself and Ambassador Gordon Sondland, as Sondland began to take an increasingly large and curious role in Ukraine strategy revolving around investigations being sought by Donald Trump. Specifically, she had at one point become angry with him because he wasn't keeping her team appraised of his Ukrainian efforts, which were different from the official positions of the administration as Dr. Hill and other top officials understood them to be.
Her whole response is worth watching for Dr. Hill’s detailed, precise recounting of events.
HILL: I was actually, to be honest, angry with him. And, you know, I hate to say it but often when women show anger it's not fully appreciated, you know, it's often pushed off onto 'emotional issues', perhaps, or deflected onto other people. And what I was angry about was that he wasn't coordinating with us.
Now I actually realize, having listened to his deposition, that he was absolutely right. But he wasn't coordinating with us because we weren't doing the same thing that he was doing. So I was upset with him that he wasn't fully telling us about all of the meetings he was having, and he said to me: 'But I'm briefing the president. I'm briefing chief of staff Mulvaney. I'm briefing Secretary Pompeo, I've talked to Ambassador Bolton, who else do I have to deal with?'
And the point is we have a robust interagency process that deals with Ukraine. It includes Mr. Holmes, it includes Ambassador Taylor, it includes the chargé in Ukraine, it includes a whole load of other people. But it struck me, when yesterday, when you put up on the screen Ambassador Sondland's emails and who was on these emails, and he said these are the people that need to know, that he was absolutely right.
Because he was being involved in a domestic political errand, and we were being involved in national security foreign policy. And those two things had just diverged.
So he was correct. And I had not put my finger on it at that moment, but I was irritated with him that he wasn't fully coordinating, and I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, I think this is all going to blow up.
And here we are.
This would be among the last exchanges from Hill to be solicited from committee Republicans; after the close of the Republican counsel’s questioning, Republican members largely avoided asking her direct questions.