Diplomat David Holmes testified to House impeachment investigators on Thursday that Ambassador Gordon Sondland was more than a little frustrated with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as they carried out the pressure campaign against Ukraine.
In his opening statement, Holmes described how he came to learn about Giuliani’s “direct influence” on the foreign policy agenda in Ukraine that was being implemented by “the Three Amigos”: Sondland, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and then-Special Envoy Kurt Volker.
“In fact, at one point during a preliminary meeting of the inauguration delegation, someone wondered aloud about why Mr. Giuliani was so active in the media with respect to Ukraine,” Holmes said. “My recollection is that Ambassador Sondland stated, ‘Dammit Rudy. Every time Rudy gets involved he goes and f—s everything up.'”
On Wednesday, Sondland testified that he and the other two “Amigos” worked with Giuliani “at the express direction” of Trump.
“We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani,” the ambassador said, though he added that he, Perry, and Volker “did not believe that his role was improper at the time.”
Watch Holmes below:
Diplomat David Holmes testifies that Ambassador Gordon Sondland complained, “Every time Rudy [Giuliani] gets involved, he goes and f*cks everything up.” pic.twitter.com/9HDFJwbZ2k
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 21, 2019
