Aide testifies Sondland told Trump that Zelensky would 'do anything you ask him to'

Savannah Behrmann | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump's Ukraine phone call: U.S. and Ukraine relationship, explained U.S. and Ukraine relations go further back than the now infamous phone call between Trump and Zelensky. We explain their relationship.

WASHINGTON – David Holmes, the State Department official who overheard a key conversation between President Donald Trump and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, told lawmakers during a closed-door deposition Friday that Sondland assured Trump that Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky “loves your ass” and would do “anything you ask him to” when asked about investigations he sought.

Holmes testified, "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.'"

Holmes’ opening statement, which was first reported by CNN and confirmed by other outlets, recounted how he overheard the phone conversation between Sondland and Trump at a restaurant in Ukraine’s capital on July 26, just a day after the conversation between the two foreign leaders at the center of the inquiry.

"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," Holmes said.

He clarified he did not take notes but had a “clear recollection that these statements were made.”

More: Roger Stone found guilty of lying to Congress to protect Trump and his campaign

During the July 25 phone call, Trump had requested that Zelensky investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that had been under investigation, as well as alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election. U.S. intelligence has found no evidence of Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 elections.

Evidence of the phone conversation was first brought-up during the public testimony of Ambassador Bill Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, on Wednesday, where he testified a member of his staff, now known to be Holmes, was with Sondland at the restaurant and overheard the conversation.

"The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about 'the investigations,'" Taylor said in his opening statement. "Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward."

Holmes also told lawmakers that when he asked Sondland "if it was true that the President did not 'give a s--- about Ukraine", Sondland replied that Trump only cared about "big stuff" that benefited Trump, like the investigations into the Bidens led by Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer.

More: Intimidation among key takeaways from the Trump impeachment hearing with Marie Yovanovitch

Sondland has already amended his testimony from his closed-door deposition a few weeks ago, and did not mention this conversation to investigators. In the update, Sondland added that he had communicated a quid pro quo to a Ukraine official, linking military aid for Ukraine that was delayed by the United States to a public statement committing to investigations Trump and Giuliani wanted. He is set to testify publicly next Wednesday before the Intelligence Committee.

An official working on the impeachment inquiry told USA TODAY that Holmes was subpoenaed in light of an attempt by the State Department to limit his testimony and direct him not to appear for the scheduled deposition.

Holmes testified that two other people also overheard the alleged phone call between Trump and Sondland.