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.)
ICE arrests illegal immigrants convicted of child rape, sexual assault, drug trafficking
Former Connecticut police chief arrested for allegedly stealing $85K in public funds
CIA retracts, revises 19 past intelligence assessments deemed politically biased
Campus Radicals Newsletter: Teacher who lost job over 2-word post breaks silence, Chicago ‘racial segregation’
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Targeted attack’ vandalizes Trump-Kennedy Center outdoor ice rink, forces performance cancellation
Twisted: Little Girl Tells Mom She’s Afraid Trans Teacher Will Eat Her at Night, Then Mom Learns What He’s Telling Kindergartners at School
Crockett blasts ‘left’ for alleged skin darkening in ads as Texas Senate clash heats up
EPA scraps Biden coal restrictions as advocates say move will restore American dominance
Kavanaugh rips Supreme Court majority’s ‘illogical’ line on tariffs
Trump Accuses Supreme Court of Being Influenced by ‘Foreign Interests’ Following Tariff Ruling
Trump Slams Supreme Court for Not Addressing Tariff Refunds in Ruling: ‘Not Written by Smart People’
Omar calls GOP probe into husband’s $30M business surge a ‘political stunt’ as records deadline passes
President Trump Announces ‘Different Direction’ on Tariffs Following SCOTUS Decision, And Might Charge Countries More Than Before
Sanctuary City Detroit to Fire Cops After They Cooperated with ICE – DHS Responds
Fox News Poll: Trump’s tariffs faced broad disapproval even before Supreme Court ruling
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.
