Trump reportedly overheard asking EU ambassador if Ukraine's president was 'going to do the investigation'


President Trump apparently does not follow former President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy advice about speaking softly.
David Holmes, an official from the United States Embassy in Ukraine, testified before Congress in a closed-door impeachment inquiry hearing Friday that he overheard a phone call in July between Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland while he was having lunch with the latter in Kyiv. The call reportedly took place just one day after Trump's infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that sparked the impeachment inquiry.
During the call, Holmes reportedly heard Trump — who Holmes testified was speaking so loudly that Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear — ask Sondland if Zelensky was "going to do the investigation." Sondland reportedly responded in the affirmative, saying that Zelensky would do "anything you ask him to."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After the call, Sondland reportedly told Holmes that Trump didn't care about Ukraine, except for "big stuff" like investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, over the younger Biden's ties to a Ukrainian gas company.
Holmes' testimony confirmed an account from acting Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor's public impeachment inquiry testimony Wednesday. Going forward, The New York Times and The Washington Post note, Sondland will almost certainly be asked about the alleged conversation during his public testimony next week. The ambassador did not mention it during his previous private testimony. Read more at The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
By The Week US
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportation
Cartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US
-
Exploring the three great gardens of Japan
The Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
By The Week UK
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US