POOL

Washington, DC - 19 November 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:

"I believe I just asked him an open ended question, Mr. Chairman, 'What do you want from Ukraine? I keep hearing all these different ideas and theories and this and that. What do you want?' And it was a very short, abrupt conversation. He was not in a good mood. And he just said, 'I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelenskiy to do the right thing.' Something to that effect."

++WHITE FLASH++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:

"And you don't recall the specifics of holding your phone outside, far away from your ear, as Mr. Holmes testified. But you have no reason to question his recollection of that, do you?"

3.SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:

"I mean, it seems a little strange. I would hold my phone here. I probably had my phone close to my ear. And he claims to have overheard part of the conversation. And I'm not going to dispute what he did or didn't hear."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:

"Well, he also testified that you confirmed to President Trump that you were in Ukraine at the time and that President Zelenskiy, quote, loves your ass, unquote. Do you recall saying that?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:

"It sounds like something I would say...that's how President Trump and I communicate a lot of four letter words in this case, three letters."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Goldman, Counsel for House Democrats:

"Holmes then said that he heard President Trump ask, quote, Is he meaning Zelenskiy going to do the investigation? To which you replied 'He's going to do it', and then you added the President Zelenskiy will do anything that you meaning President Trump ask him to. Do you recall that?"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the EU:

"I probably said something to that effect because I remember the meeting, the president, President Zelenskiy was very, solicitous is not a good word. He was just very willing to work with the United States and was being very amicable and so putting it in Trump's speak by saying he loves your ass, he'll do whatever you want, meant that he would really work with us on a whole host of issues."

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus127030

Ambassador Gordon Sondland says he never heard President Donald Trump say that military aid to Ukraine was conditioned on a public announcement by the Ukrainian president that the country was investigating Democrats.

Sondland tells a House committee in the impeachment inquiry into Trump that it was clear that a meeting in the White House was conditioned on investigations.

He also said Trump never told him a White House meeting with the Ukrainian president would not happen without a public announcement. He heard that from Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Sondland said it was a personal guess that the military aid was being held up until an announcement, one that others eventually also made.

Sondland is questioning details of a July cellphone call with President Donald Trump as recounted by a diplomat who overheard the call from a Kyiv restaurant.

David Holmes said he heard the two men discussing investigations Trump was seeking as Sondland held the phone out. Sondland said it "seems a little strange" that he would hold the phone that way.

Sondland, Trump's ambassador to the EU, is testifying Wednesday in the House impeachment inquiry. Holmes testified earlier behind closed-doors.

Sondland said he doesn't think he would have told Holmes that Trump only cares about "the big stuff," as Holmes recounted.

Holmes also said Sondland told Trump the Ukrainian president "loves your ass" — which Sondland said "sounds like something I would say."

Sondland said that's how he communicated with Trump: "a lot of four-letter words. In this case three letters."