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.)
Senator John Kennedy introduces America to ‘Margaret,’ his elliptical trainer named after Thatcher
Waymo driverless cars overrun Atlanta neighborhood, circling cul-de-sacs and alarming families with kids
Lithuania and Poland forecast ‘military aid’ to help open Strait of Hormuz amid denials of US troop reductions in region
From Revival to Reformation: Why I’m Running for Governor of California
Here’s Where the Redistricting Wars Stand as the 2026 Midterms Approach
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: Detransitioner drama, sex toy giveaways, shocking bathroom find
Colorado governor commutes Tina Peters’ sentence as Trump posts ‘FREE TINA!’
Supreme Court deals blow to Virginia Democrats in fight over state court ruling
Navy veteran Rocky Rochford seeks to turn Tampa Bay red, unseat 20-year House incumbent
Trump Reveals Waterfront Site for Long-Planned National Garden of American Heroes
Alex Murdaugh retrial could bring potential death penalty as AG says ‘all our legal options are on the table’
Op-Ed: Tulsi Gabbard, the CIA, And the MKUltra Files – What Are They Hiding?
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Nancy Guthrie sheriff, Alex Murdaugh’s win, Kouri Richins’ message
Outrage: Using Enormous Pipes Water Utility Didn’t Know About, AI Data Center Guzzled 30 Million Gallons of Water for Free
Texas Boom: GOP-Led State Brags America’s 5 Fastest-Growing Cities as People Flee Blue States
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.
