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.)
Four noncitizens charged with illegally voting in 2020, 2022 and 2024 federal elections in New Jersey
Trump teases US will be ‘taking over’ Cuba ‘almost immediately’ in Florida speech
Pentagon orders withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany as Trump escalates feud with Merz
Op-Ed: Now Is the Time for Republican Courage on Abortion
Federal appeals court blocks mailing of abortion pills in ruling with nationwide effect
Domino’s driver runs down customer over tip dispute, caught on camera: police
Christian School That Was Punished for Stand Against Trans Athletes in Girls’ Sports Gets the Last Laugh
57 pounds of marijuana worth $220,000 found in Maryland man and woman’s suitcase at Dulles Airport
Oregon Man Faces Lengthy Prison Sentence After Targeting Customs and Border Protection Helicopter
Trump aims to reset war powers clock with controversial bid to bypass Congress
DOJ Targets Blue State for Giving Illegals Financial Assistance While Neglecting U.S. Citizens
Black conservative unleashes on Obama for ‘constantly whining’ after SCOTUS voting rights decision
Pope Leo places former illegal immigrant in charge of red state diocese
Teen suspect in murder of two bank employees in Kentucky leads police on wild 130 mph chase
Sheriff Grady Judd names Jan. 6 participant, MAGA influencer among 266 arrested in prostitution sting
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.
