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.)
Israel ‘remains firmly committed’ to ceasefire but will continue occupation of southern Lebanon
News Outlet Caves to Democratic Senate Candidate, Kills Poll That Makes Her Look Bad
Watch: Angel Reese Shoves Caitlin Clark, Then Mocks Her as Long-Running Rivalry Is Renewed
Karmelo Anthony runs away after murdering Austin Metcalf: surveillance video
Michigan trio allegedly beat, strangled and gagged man at Las Vegas hotel to collect on gambling debts
Obama Snubs Trump from Presidential Center Opening, Then Subtly Attacks Him
Double endorsement drama: Trump backs second candidate in red state’s GOP gubernatorial runoff
Schiff silent on Biden-era Newsom probe report as California AG claims DOJ ‘weaponization’
Trump reveals new Air Force One will fly over DC on July 4
Transgender former New Hampshire state representative sentenced to 33 years for child sex abuse: report
WATCH: Boozy boaters unleash wild riverfront brawl as fists fly at popular South Carolina sandbar
New Air Force One takes flight as Trump unveils revamped presidential aircraft
Clarence Thomas and Two Fellow Conservatives Form Unexpected Majority with Two Liberals in SCOTUS Decision
‘Political stunt’ prosecution of ICE agent for ‘road rage’ provokes heated DHS response
Satanic: Muslim Pedophiles Told UK Girls That Being Raped Would Take Away Their Sins
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.
