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.)
Watch: Scott Bessent Goes Cutthroat and Exposes MSNBC Host as Clueless With 1 Question: “Do You Know What a Swap Line Is?”
Democratic Senate Staffer Caught Posing as a Lawyer in Attempt to Free Illegal Alien: ICE
House advances bill to end government shutdown with hours until final vote
White House hits back after JFK’s grandson calls RFK Jr. a ‘rabid dog’
Fact check: Does Trump need to expand H-1B visas to address lack of ‘talented’ workers?
Kash Patel says China agreed to stop production of fentanyl ingredients
Kash Patel’s girlfriend sues commentator over post suggesting Mossad connection
Fetterman’s new book details explosive feud with Gov Josh Shapiro over parole board dispute
Fetterman torches Democratic Party in new book: ‘Elitist,’ ‘lost touch’ with working class
John F. Kennedy’s Grandson Launches Bid for Jerry Nadler’s Congressional Seat
Hollywood Star Timothee Chalamet Triggers Woke Mob by Calling Out the Uncomfortable Truth About a Childless Life
Trump admin announces big step toward ‘energy dominance’ with massive Alaska LNG project alliance
Dem Senate staffer accused of posing as lawyer in attempt to free illegal immigrant from ICE custody
Watch: Famous Black Lesbian Singer Storms Out of Dem Event After Learning How Little They Care That She Was Assaulted in Bathroom by a Trans Person
Stunning Footage: Massive Chinese Bridge Collapses Months After Opening
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.
