State Department staffer David Holmes, the aide who claims to have overheard President Donald Trump talking to U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland the day after his July 25 conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, testified in a closed-door impeachment inquiry hearing at the House Intelligence Committee Friday afternoon that he overheard Sondland telling President Trump that President Zelensky “loves your ass.”
The fact that Holmes claimed to have overheard the conversation was revealed on Wednesday, during the first public hearing in the impeachment inquiry, when Charge d’affaires William Taylor updated his own closed-door testimony from last month. The testimony added little, but confirmed Trump was interested in Ukraine undertaking “investigations” into 2016 election interference and the circumstances in which former Vice President Joe Biden forced the ouster of a prosecutor overseeing a probe into Burisma, where his son Hunter was a board member. (The testimony may also, as Breitbart News noted, have violated rules around classified and privileged communications.)
Why blaming ‘the left’ is easier than deterring violence after Charlie Kirk’s murder
WATCH: Clemson student caught on video appearing to mock Charlie Kirk after assassination
Russia has given military training to around 20% of deported Ukrainian children
Trump says he’s ‘not familiar’ with assassinated Democrat Hortman when asked about lowering flags
FBI Director Kash Patel reveals details about alleged Kirk assassin’s texts
Charlie Kirk vigils held at universities across America following assassination of conservative activist
Young people restore Charlie Kirk memorial mural with Bible verses after vandals deface tribute
Appeals court rejects Trump bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
Appeals court blocks Trump from firing Fed’s Lisa Cook, setting stage for SCOTUS clash
House Republicans honor Charlie Kirk while Dem leaders skip Capitol prayer vigil
Republican governor targeted by Democrats launches re-election bid in key battleground
Ryan Routh’s SUV looked ‘lived in,’ filled with passports, phones and notes, FBI special agent testifies
Manchin says he wanted GOP to win Senate to stop Democrats’ quest for ‘raw political power’
Nurse Reportedly Punished for Warning That Doctor Openly Supported Bloody Kirk Assassination
Leftist Teacher Showed Charlie Kirk Assassination to Students Over and Over Again, Told Them He Deserved it: Report
Though Holmes’s hearing was meant to be behind closed doors, a copy of his prepared statement was leaked — as many statements have been, when Democrats believe witnesses will help their case against the president. He said (via CNN):
While Ambassador Sondland’s phone was not on speakerphone, I could hear President Trump’s voice through the earpiece of the phone. The President’s voice was very loud and recognizable, and Ambassador Sondland held the phone away from his ear for a period of time, primarily because of the loud volume.
I heard Ambassador Sondland greet the President and explain that he was calling from Kyiv. I heard President Trump then clarify that Ambassador Sondland was in Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland replied, yes, he was in Ukraine, and went on to state that President Zelenskyy “loves your ass.” I then heard President Trump ask, “So, he’s gonna do the investigation?” Ambassador Sondland replied that “he’s gonna do it,” adding that President Zelenskyy will do “anything you ask him to.” Even though I did not take notes of these statements, I have a clear recollection that these statements were made.
It is not yet clear whether Homes will be called to testify in public.
Story cited here.
