US envoy to EU accused of sexual misconduct

A US ambassador nominated by President Donald Trump who provided key testimony in his impeachment hearings was accused Wednesday of sexual misconduct by three women.

Gordon Sondland, the US envoy to the European Union, denied the allegations, with his lawyer alleging that the accusers were trying to taint his credibility in the inquiry.

The Portland Monthly published named accounts by three women who said that Sondland, a wealthy hotel owner from Seattle, retaliated against them professionally after they rejected him sexually.

One of the women, Jana Solis, said she met Sondland in 2008 when she was seeking work in her position as a safety expert for hotels.

She said Sondland met her for lunch and offered her a job as “my new hotel chick” before slapping her rear.

Another woman, Nicole Vogel, said she met Sondland in 2003 over dinner to seek investment in a new magazine. He then took her to a hotel he owned and invited her to see a room, where he requested a hug and then “grabs my face and goes to kiss me,” she said. Vogel said she refused and left. She pointed to an email afterward in which Sondland declined funding for her project.

Sondland in a statement rejected all the accusations.

Vogel owns the Portland Monthly, which published the article.