Sondland’s sin was having businesses in Portland. They pressured him politically and with protests at his business. Sondland, in my opinion, made a choice to cave into their demands to protect his business.
Like Frank Pentangeli in Godfather 2?
Having watched Sondland’s ‘chatter’ during the hearing...he assumed an awful lot. He continually remarked that he didn’t know the facts. He appeared to be more of a ‘gossip-queen’ than anything else. I don’t think he was suited for this job...then I kinda wonder how he managed to do so well in the business world.