On CNN Saturday, former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa noted that State Department aide David Holmes' testimony does not just make a liar of EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland for claiming he wasn't aware of any plot to extort Ukraine with military aid, it also makes a liar out of President Donald Trump for suggesting he had barely even interacted with Sondland in the first place.
"What does all of this mean when we look ahead to the space that Sondland, Ambassador Sondland is in, and what he's going to say on Wednesday?" asked anchor Christi Paul.
"Yeah, so Holmes is really important because he has firsthand knowledge of this call," said Rangappa. "He was sitting there and he heard — he overheard this conversation. I just want to emphasize that, because one of the big objections that the Republicans have had is that everything has been hearsay. So we are getting closer to getting firsthand corroboration and information."
"As far as Sondland, you know, he's in a little hot water because his previous testimony, even after he amended it once, said that he never had any direct communications with anyone at the White House about the investigations into the Bidens or 2016 election. This directly contradicts that," said Rangappa. "He would have had a follow-up call, if this is true, the day after Trump spoke with President Zelensky. So he has a little bit of explaining to do there. And then for President Trump, of course he's not under oath, but he did say publicly that he barely knew who Ambassador Sondland was, and this would obviously cast doubt on that claim as well."
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