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.)
Timeline: All the incidents where US troops have been killed during the Iran war
Lindsey Graham succession fight upended as Trump’s chosen successor jumps in
Christian Apologist Forced to Move After Muslims Prove His Point
Did JD Vance Tuck a Hidden Reference in His New Son’s Name?
The American dream now comes with a ZIP code: Here’s where starter homes are still within reach
War erupts on far left as DSA endorses challenger against sitting House progressive
Mamdani’s ‘deranged’ Israel take resurfaces as he targets Netanyahu
Houthis declare naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, escalating crisis
Trump shares first picture of JD Vance’s baby boy
Cops Find Dead Body at $1.1 Million Home Owned by Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
Trump Takes Over World Cup Finale, Helps Distribute Trophies After Fists Flew at End of Championship Game
Woke language overhaul would strip the word ‘inmate’ from New York City’s entire jail rulebook
FBI alleges suspect ‘deployed an incendiary device outside’ federal building
NORAD Fighter Jets Intercept Multiple Aircraft Infringing on Restricted U.S. Airspace
Minnesota’s Biggest Paper Cheers Tim Walz For Pardoning Child Rapist, Says He Was Justified Because of Jan 6
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.
