Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland confirmed Wednesday he told President Trump that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “loves your ass.”
Sondland did not dispute recorded testimony from David Holmes, a political counselor at the United States Embassy in Ukraine, who testified that he overheard the comment during a conversation between Sondland and President Trump.
Sondland testified to the House Intelligence Committee detailing the comment as the Democrat counsel questioned him about his conversation with the president.
“Yeah, it sounds like something I would say,” Sondland chuckled. “That’s how President Trump and I communicate, a lot of four-letter words, in this case, three letters.”
Sondland said he did not remember his comments in detail but acknowledged he probably said what Holmes had heard.
“I’m not going to dispute what he did or didn’t hear,” he said, referring to Holmes recollection of the conversation. Holmes said he heard the comment when Sondland was talking with the president about Zelensky on an unsecured line.
Sondland said he was only trying to express to President Trump that Zelensky was willing to work with the United States.
“Putting it in Trump-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,” he said.