Be careful what you wish for.
The Republicans have been trying out every excuse and distraction they can think of. One of those excuses is that none of the witnesses have firsthand knowledge that Trump was trying to bribe/extort Ukraine for his own political gain.
Well, now they’ll have their chance.
One of the bombshells that Bill Taylor dropped on the first day of public impeachment hearings was that he had heard from a member of his staff who told him that he had overhead a call Ambassador Gordon Sondland made to Trump about this whole scandal. It was the day AFTER the call Trump had with the Ukrainian president in which he asked for a “favor.” Sondland called Trump while he was in Ukraine, on a cell phone (that wasn’t clearly very secure), in the open, and at a restaurant! The volume was set so high on Sondland’s phone that he moved it away from his ear, hence why Holmes (and the two other staffers present at the lunch) could hear the conversation so clearly.
You can find both a short summary and full written transcript of Holmes’ testimony HERE, and I’ve added it to my post with the full schedule of who is testifying this week.
His testimony just got released and I smirked when I saw CNN report that Republican lawmakers were “shaken” by it. Per CNN: “According to the GOP congressional source, that testimony led several GOP lawmakers to express frustration that Sondland would place a call to the President in a public restaurant, and are concerned that Holmes’ testimony was the most convincing argument for Trump’s direct involvement in the campaign to pressure Ukraine.”
Holmes testifies on Thursday.
⚡
If you like this post, I hope you will share it with others. Then:
Follow me at @DHStokyo on Twitter
Like Political Charge on Facebook
Subscribe to get my posts via email
Categories: Uncategorized
Leave a Reply