The now infamous aide to Ambassador Taylor was called to testify behind closed doors to clarify a statement made by Taylor during Wednesday’s hearing.
That aide, David Holmes, read from a prepared statement offering his account of the conversation he overheard between Ambassador Sondland and Donald Trump.
The Conversation
According to Holmes, he, Sondland, and two other people were dining on a terrace at a restaurant when the call was placed.
Holmes admitted the call was NOT on speaker but he stated that Trump was talking so loud that he could hear him clearly.
Holmes stated, “Sondland told Trump that Zelensky ‘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 Zelensky will do ‘anything you ask him to.'”
He further stated, “While Ambassador Sondland’s phone was not on speakerphone, I could hear the President’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, presumably because of the loud volume.
“Even though I did not take notes of those statements, I have a clear recollection that these statements were made.”
Big Stuff
According to Holmes, there was some back and forth between he and Sondland discussing the phone call.
Holmes says he asked Sondland “if it was true that the President did not ‘give a s— about Ukraine.”
Sondland told him Trump only cared about “big stuff.”
When Holmes asked him to clarify, Sondland stated, “‘Big stuff’ that benefits the President, like the Biden investigation that Mr. Giuliani was pushing.”
So, what we have to ask ourselves is if it is more likely that this conversation happened or if Holmes decided he wanted to interject himself into the impeachment to further his own career.
Personally, I am leaning towards the latter simply because I find the whole “overhearing” narrative very hard to believe.
When I thought the meal happened inside it was bad enough, but now we are also talking about outside noise being introduced into the mix and Holmes insisting that he could hear every word clearly… sorry, I am just not buying it.