Guys, if you thought the impeachment inquiry was a s***-show so far, wait until next week:
you don't see a chyron like that very often pic.twitter.com/c22iRquAJv
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 15, 2019
This is reportedly from Embassy staffer David Holmes’ opening statement,
I obtained a copy of David Holmes' opening statement, saying that he heard Trump telling Gordon Sondland: "So, he's gonna do the investigation?" Sondland tells Trump: "He's gonna do it" and that Zelensky will do "anything you ask for." pic.twitter.com/24RgVCvzoy
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2019
Sondland responded Trump only cares about “big stuff.” When Holmes said that the Ukraine war was big, Sondland responded “‘big stuff’ that benefits the President, like the Biden investigation that Mr. Giuliani was pushing,” Holmes said.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2019
Apparently, everyone heard what the President of the United States was saying on the call because Amb. Sondland held the phone away from his ear because Trump is a loud talker:
His “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.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2019
There are reportedly other witnesses as well:
At least two other witnesses – beyond David Holmes – overheard the Trump-Sondland call in which Trump was pressing for investigations into the Bidens, we are told
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2019
And here’s the quote that we will hear again and again and again over the next 72 hours:
Sondland told Trump that Zelensky 'loves your ass,'" Holmes said, according to a copy of his opening statement obtained by CNN. "I then heard President Trump ask, 'So, he's gonna do the investigation?'” https://t.co/cQ0E9L8Qtx
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 15, 2019
We eagerly away a Ukrainian media fact-check of this:
Tomorrow morning in Ukraine: "Excuse me, President Zelensky, do you love Trump's ass?"
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) November 15, 2019
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