November 13, 2019

Diplomat Who Allegedly Overheard Trump-Sondland Call Will Testify

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Earlier today, Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, dropped a bombshell during the first day of the House’s impeachment hearings. Taylor testified that one of his staffers overheard a phone call between President Donald Trump and US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland, in which Trump asked Sondland about the politically motivated investigations Trump wanted Ukraine to pursue. NBC News reports that the staffer in question is David Holmes, who is the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine. Holmes was just added to the House’s calendar to testify in a closed session on Friday. 

Per Taylor’s earlier testimony, Holmes accompanied Sondland to a restaurant on July 26 after Sondland met with an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the restaurant, Sondland called Trump to tell him about the meeting, and Holmes overheard the president asking Sondland about “the investigations” into Trump’s political enemies. After the call, Holmes asked Sondland what the president thinks of Ukraine, to which Sondland “responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which [Trump personal attorney Rudy] Giuliani was pressing for,” according to Taylor. 

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