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(CNN) - The State Department told the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, not to appear before the House on Tuesday.
His lawyer Robert Luskin said Tuesday morning that he has no choice but to comply. "He is an acting ambassador and a state employee and must follow his instructions," Luskin said.
LOOK: Second complainant would have information about alleged interaction between Trump and his Ukrainian peer
Luskin said Sondland will not appear before the House.
Sondland was to testify on Tuesday before three House commissions.
Extreme measures are being considered to protect the identity of an informant who filed a complaint about Trump's conduct with Ukraine, according to several sources familiar with the process.
Democrats have requested information from three associates of Rudy Giuliani, attorney for President Donald Trump.
Investigators were going to ask Sondland about text messages he exchanged related to President Trump's phone call in July with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the freezing of foreign aid to Ukraine.
Sondland was a hotel and donor to Trump and has been an EU ambassador since 2018.
LOOK: House of Representatives Democrats intensify political trial investigation with subpoena to the White House to deliver Ukrainian documents
Sondland exchanged messages with Volker and a senior US diplomat in Ukraine about establishing the call between Zelensky and Trump and whether foreign aid was being held while Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, pressed for Ukraine to open an investigation.
Republicans can also make Sondland a fruitful witness, as he rejected in the text messages the idea that the aid was related to the investigations.
ImpeachmetUkraine
