Uncategorized

State Department Staffer: Sondland Told Trump Zelensky ‘Loves Your Ass’

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.)


Cory Booker hands weary Democrats a lifeline with marathon Trump protest
Ex-Duke football murder suspect keeps returning home after arrests thanks to soft-on-crime judges: police rep
Karen Read judge sued over ‘buffer zone’ keeping protesters away from courthouse
Trump taps longtime lawyer for MAGA allies Stanley Woodward for top DOJ post
Blagojevich has new job working for ‘Bosnian Bear’ politician with ties to Putin
DOGE uncovers VA’s agreement to pay $380K per month for minor website modifications
Transportation Sec Sean Duffy slams blue state governor, says criminals ‘continue to terrorize’ city residents
Ted Cruz clashes with key Democrat over ‘second phase of lawfare’ through federal judges’ orders
Georgia father arrested after leaving children at McDonald’s for job interview, sparking debate
American Airlines flight to Tokyo from NYC diverted to Texas for ‘maintenance issue’
Man charged with making threats against ICE agents, DHS Sec Kristi Noem in ‘alarming’ social media posts
SCOOP: White House rallies House GOP on Trump tariff plan in secret call
Fox News ratings surge in first quarter of 2025 with help from The Five and Special Report
‘False’: Trump admin rebukes claims intel officials are frequently using Signal to send classified info
GOP defectors help Senate advance resolution to cancel Trump tariffs despite White House veto warning


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.

See also  It's Official: Liberation Day Is Here, And the List of Tariffs Is a MAGA Dream Come True

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter