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