Trump denies asking about investigations on call
President Trump is denying he asked a U.S. ambassador about “investigations” in Ukraine a day after his call with that country’s president.
The existence of the call was revealed Wednesday by William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. He testified that one of his staffers overheard Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, speaking on the phone with Trump on July 26.
Sondland used his cellphone to call Trump, and the staff member could hear Trump on the phone asking about “the investigations.”
Trump is denying knowledge of the call, saying, "I know nothing about that.” He adds, “First time I've heard it."
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He also said he wants to find out who is the whistleblower whose complaint about his July phone call with Ukraine’s president spurred the impeachment inquiry.
Trump made his comments during a White House news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said he did not watch the first day of public hearings of the impeachment inquiry.
Trump said, “I hear it’s a joke. I haven’t watched for one minute because I’ve been with the president” of Turkey.
He reiterated his claim that the whistleblower complaint was “much different” from the facts of his call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The whistleblower expressed alarm that Trump attempted to pressure Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son while holding up U.S. military aid.
An official familiar with the matter said the staffer Taylor referred to is David Holmes, the political counselor at the embassy in Kyiv. Holmes is invited to testify before Congress on Friday.