Although Holmes was called to the stand to testify about a conversation he heard between Sondland and Donald Trump, and Sondland’s subsequent comments on that conversation, the most shocking part of his statement was about another incident:
“Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yermak that the security assistance freeze would not be lifted until President Zelenskyy committed to the Burisma/Biden investigation.”
Holmes did not have first-hand knowledge of this conversation, so the value of his claim can’t be evaluated until Sondland testifies.
As for the specific conversation Holmes was involved in, his statement went like this:
“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 Zelenskyy will do ‘anything you ask him to.’
I asked Ambassador Sondland if it was true that the President did not ‘give a shit about Ukraine.’ Ambassador Sondland agreed that the President did not ‘give a shit about Ukraine.’ I asked why not, and Ambassador Sondland stated that the President only cares about ‘big stuff.’ I noted that there was ‘big stuff’ going on in Ukraine, like a war with Russia, and Ambassador Sondland replied that he meant ‘big stuff’ that benefits the President, like the ‘Biden investigation.'”
