holmes testified that president trump asked sondland, so he's going to do the investigation? sondland replied that he's going to do it adding that president zelensky will do anything you ask him to. after the phone call, holmes took the opportunity to ask ambassador sondland for his candid impression of the president's views on ukraine. according to holmes. >> in particular, i asked ambassador sondland if it was true that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. ambassador sondland agreed that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. i asked why not? ambassador sondland stated that the president only cares about

described in detail by deputy assistant secretary kant, ambassador taylor and political officer david holmes would help complete the record and clarify how the president scheme unfolded in real time and how the ukrainians reacted. mr. kent wrote our memos found at least four times according to his testimony. ambassador taylor took extensive notes of nearly every conversation he had, some in a little notebook and david holmes , the embassy official in

according to david holmes, the ukraine-based u.s. u.s. diplomat who served as a notetaker, the ukrainian leader mentioned that president trump have brought up some very sensitive issues. during the july 25 call. very sensitive issues. ambassador sondland then had a private meeting with andriy yermak, president zelensky's top aide. the two men insisted that the meeting be one on one with no notetaker, perhaps due to the sensitive issues that might come up. ambassador sondland testified that he and presidente zelenskys aid probably discussed the issue of investigations. after these key moments in ukraine ambassador sondland went to lunch with david holmes and two other american officials. mr. holmes set directly across from ambassador sondland close enough to hear the details of an extraordinaryf telephone call between mr. sondland and presidenten trump. as mr. holmes relayed during his sworn testimony under oath, ambassador sondland pulled out his unsecured cell phone and said that he was going to call president trump to give him an update

according to david holmes, the ukraine based u.s.diplomatic who served as a notetaker, ukrainian leader mention the president trump had brought up some very sensitive issues. this was during the july 25th call. very sensitive issues. ambassador sawn wood, had a private meeting with president zelinski news top eight. the two men insisted that the meeting be 11. with no notetakers. perhaps due to the sensitive issues that might come up. he testified that he in presents a probably discussed the issue of investigation. in after these key moments in ukraine, ambassador sawn blood went to lunch with two other american officials in mr. holmes sat directly across from them master solid close enough, do you the details of an extraordinary telephone call. between mr. sunderland in president trump. as mr. holmes relayed during his sworn testimony under oath, in mr. sawn blood pulled out unsecured cell phone, in said that he was going to call president trump to give him an update. what happened next was shocking. >> i could have the presidents v

according to david holmes, the ukraine based u.s. diplomatic who served as a notetaker, ukrainian leader mention the president trump had brought up some very sensitive issues. this was during the july 25th call. very sensitive issues. ambassador sawn wood, had a private meeting with president zelinski news top eight. the two men insisted that the meeting be 11. with no notetakers. perhaps due to the sensitive issues that might come up. he testified that he in presents a probably discussed the issue of investigation. in after these key moments in ukraine, ambassador sawn blood went to lunch with two other american officials in mr. holmes sat directly across from them master solid close enough, do you the details of an extraordinary telephone call. between mr. sunderland in president trump. as mr. holmes relayed during his sworn testimony under oath, in mr. sawn blood pulled out unsecured cell phone, in said that he was going to call president trump to give him an update. what happened next was shocking. >> i could have the presidents

holmes, so let's watch. >> now, dr. hill, are you aware of any evidence to support the allegations against vice president biden? >> i'm not, no. >> and, in fact, mr. holmes, the form prosecutor general of ukraine who vice president biden encouraged to fire was actually corrupt, is that right? >> correct. >> and was not pursuing corruption investigations and prosecutions, right? >> my understanding is the prosecutor general at the time, shokin, was not at that time pursuing investigations of burisma or the bidens. >> and in fact, removing that corrupt prosecutor general was part of the united states anticorruption policy, isn't that correct? >> that's correct. not just us, but all of our allies and other institutions that were involved in ukraine at the time. >> ambassador yovanovitch, too, confirmed these points. let's watch her testify. >> in fact, when vice president biden acted to remove the former corrupt prosecutor in ukraine, did he do so as part of official united states policy? >> official u.s. policy. it was en

according to david holmes, the ukraine based u.s. diplomat who served as the note taker, the ukrainian leader mentioned that president trump had brought up some very sensitive issues during the july 25th call. very sensitive issues. ambassador sondland then had a private meeting with andre yermak, president zelensky's top aide. the two men insisted that the meeting be one-on-one with no note taker, perhaps due to the sensitive issues that might come up. ambassador sondland testified that he and president zelensky's aide probably discussed the issue of investigations. after these key moments in ukraine, ambassador sondland went to lunch with david holmes and two other american officials. mr. holmes sat directly across from ambassador sondland, close enough to hear the details of an extraordinary sworn testimony under oath, ambassador sondland pulled out his unsecured cell phone and said that he was going to call president trump to give him an update. what happened next was shocking. >> well, ambassador sondland's phone was not on spea

july is the month of that conversation between sondland and david holmes where holmes says can you tell me candidly here what the president thinks of ukraine? does he give a blank about ukraine? no, he doesn't give a blank about ukraine. he only cares about the big stuff. well, there's kind of big stuff here in ukraine like a war with the russians. no, no, no. big stuff that affects him personally like the biden investigation that giuliani wants. that's the month of july. august, we have that meeting between giuliani and yermak in madrid. august we have the back and forth about the statement. no, you go first, and you commit and publicly announce the investigations, and then we will give you a date. no, you go first. you give us the date and then we will announce the investigations. well, we will give you a statement that doesn't mention the specifics. no, no, you give us a statement that mentions the investigations. that's the month of august. august is also the month where it becomes clear that it's not just the meeting anymore. it's everything. everything is conditoned on these inves

july is the month of that conversation between sondland and david holmes where holmes says can you tell me candidly here what the president thinks of ukraine. does he give a blank a about the ukraine? no, he doesn't give a blank about ukraine. he only cares about the big stuff. well, there's kind of big stuff here in ukraine, like a war with the russians. no, no, no, big stuff that affects him personally like the biden investigation that giuliani bants. that's the month of july. august, we have that meeting between giuliani and yermak in madrid. august we have the back and forth about the statement. no, you go first, and you commit and publicly announce the investigations and then we'll give you a date. no, you give us a date and then we'll announce the investigations. well, we'll give you a statement that doesn't mention the specifics. no, no, you give us a statement that mentions the investigations. that's the month of august. august is also the months where it becomes clear that it's not just the meeting anymore. it's everything. everything is conditioned on these investigations, the

. >>> a legal twist for disgraced ceo elizabeth holmes. her new strategy after reports that she is too broke to pay her lawyers. >>> scientists raising red flags about changing and the ocean. causing alarming damage to dungeness crab. >>> we have all that plus a couple of shots i rain this weekend. we will set it all out as we cover the forecast when we come back. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. climate is the number 1 priority. i would declare a state of emergency on day 1. congress has never passed an important climate bill, ever. this is a problem that continues to get worse. i've spent a decade fighting and beating oil companies... stopping pipelines... stopping fossil fuel plants, ensuring clean energy across the country. how are we going to pull this country together? we take on the biggest challenge in history, we save the world and do it together. >>> 49ers tight end george kittle doing more than good things on the field. >> just gave two super bowl tickets to the family of a northern california soldier who was killed in

holmes starts us off with the latest on the investigation. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you all. investigators call this, a quote, devastating accident scene with the debris field that goes some two football fields long with some debris being down the hill. some of it being over the hill and while we're now learning more and more about all the victims on the helicopter and while we're learning and hearing more about the dedications to kobe bryant, the investigation now is going to focus on man, machine and environment. investigators say they will answer the question, should the pilot have been flying where he was at that time? the ntsb is on the ground this morning investigating the circumstances surrounding the helicopter crash that killed nba

little notebook and david holmes , the embassy official in ukraine was a consistent notetaker of important meetings with ukrainians officials. >> did you take notes of this conversation on september 1 with ambassador sondland? >> i did. >> did you take notes related to most of the conversations if not all of them that he resided in your opening statement? >> all of them. >> you are aware i presume that the state department had not provided those notes to the committee, is that right? i'm aware. sig so we don't have the benefit of reviewing that to answer these questions. >> correct. i understand that they may be coming sooner or later. >> well, we would welcome that. >> the state department never produce those notes. as another example deputy assistant secretary can't testified about a key document that he drafted on august 16

holmes explained, quote, i think the ukrainians are being very careful. they still need us now going forward. in fact, right now president zelensky is trying to arrange a summit meeting with president putin in the coming weeks. his first face to face meeting with him to try to advance the peace process. he needs our support. he needs president putin to understand that america supports zelensky at the highest levels. so this doesn't end with the lifting of the security assistance hold. ukraine still needs us. and as i said, still fighting this war trp, for his own personal political gain asked for a favor from president zelensky, he did exactly what the framers feared most. he invited the of a foreign power into our elections. he used the power of his office to secure that advantage and jeopardized our national security. yet president trump maintains that he was always in the right and that his july 25th call with president zelenskyec president trump has made it clear that he believes he is free to use his powers the same way, to the same ends, whenever an

david holmes, an american diplomat, dining with sondland overheard the call including the president's voice through the cell phone. i described part of that call sondland, so he will do the investigation? sondland replied, he is going to do it. adding that president zelensky will do anything you ask him to. after the phone call, holmes took opportunity to ask ambassador sondland for his candid impression of the president's views on ukraine. according to holmes -- >> in particular i asked ambassador sondland if it was true that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. ambassador sondland agreed that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. i asked why not? ambassador sondland stated that the president only cares about big stuff. i noted, there was big stuff going on in ukraine like a war with russia. and ambassador sondland replied that he meant big stuff that benefits the president like the biden investigation that mr. giuliani was pushing. the conversation then moved on to othertopics. >> those three days in july the 24th, the 25th and the 26th, reveal a l

and the president is always so loud that david holmes could hear it. and what does the president say? does he say how's that reform coming? how's the attack on corruption going? no, he just says is he going to do the investigation? is zielinski gonna do the investigation? and sunderland says, yes he will do anything you want. he loves your. this the extent of his interest in the ukraine and they go on to talk about other things and then they hang up and david holmes turns to the ambassador and says, and language i will have to modify , to remove an expletive. he says something along the lines of does th the president give a blank about ukraine? and sunderland says no he doesn't give a blank about ukraine. he only cares about the big stuff like the investigation of the bidens that giuliani once. this is a million-dollar donor to the trump inaugural. admitting the president doesn't care about ukraine he doesn't care whether they get militarily dollars to defend themselves he doesn't care what position zelensky goes into in these investigations. he doesn'

david holmes, the senior official at the u.s. embassy in kiev explained. >> mr. holmes, you have testified that by late august, you had a clear impression that the security assistance hold was somehow connected to the investigations that president trump wanted. how did you conclude that? how did you make -- reach that clear conclusion? >> sir, we had been hearing about the investigation since march, months before, and we had been -- president zelensky had received a congratulatory letter from the president saying he'd be pleased to meet him following his inauguration in may. and we had to get that meeting. and then the security hold came up with no explanation. and i'd be surprised if any of the ukraines said -- you said we discussed earlier sophisticated people. when they received no explanation for why that hold was in place, they would have drawn that conclusion. >> because the investigations were still being pursued? >> correct. >> and the hold was still remaining without investigation. >> correct. >> so this to you was the only logical conclusion that you co

the invitation says you should come dressed as holmes or an employee.situation. people were offered false hope according to prosecutors that these tests would reveal. and investors were according to prosecutors duped. actually met and i sat with her, i think i told you this at a banquet years ago, and before any of this happened. and we didn't know this at the time, and had an interesting conversation with her. but then when these revelations came out, it was stunning. >> shocking, because you felt you had gotten to know her. >> and she was being presented with an award. it's also maybe a cautionary tale that sometimes all the glitters is not gold. and in the rush to make money in silicon valley and invest, sometimes people are a little too eager to look at something and not really dig a little deeper. >>> the age at which a person is most miserable in life. can be plotted on a chart. that's according to dartmouth college professor david blancheflower, who found middle age is the most miserable time for most people. he narrowed down the point of peak un

going to do it adding that presence alinsky will do anything you ask him to after the phone call holmes took the opportunity to ask best reason for his candid impression of the president's views on ukraine according to homes in particular i asked about songlines it was true that the president did not give a expletive about ukraine basser song agreed the president did not give an expletive about ukraine i asked why not a better sign a stated to the president only cares about big stuff i noted there was big stuff going on in ukraine i don't war with russia and bass response in reply that he meant big stuff that benefits the president like the biden investigation the mr giuliani was pushing the conversation and moved on to other topics. those 3 days in july the 24th the 25th and the 26th reveal a lot about president trump's effort to solicit help from a foreign country in assisting his own reelection on the 24th special counsel muller testifies that russia interfered in our 2016 election election to assist the trunk campaign knew about the interference welcomed it and utilized it that's th

and sondland has a cell phone and he's sitting with david holm holmes who's a career u.s. diplomat in the ukraine embassy. and gordon sondland calls the white house. gordon sondland holding for the white house, holding for the president. he's connected to the president. that's pretty impressive. this isn't some guy with no relationship to the president. the president may say gordon sondland, i barely know him or something to that effect. but this is a guy that can pick up a cell phone and call the president from a restaurant in kyiv. and the president's voice is so loud that david holmes can hear it. and what does the president say? does he say how's that reform coming? how's the attack on corruption going? no. he just says is he going to do the investigation. is zelensky going to do the investigation? and sondland says, yes, he'll do anything you want. he loves your ass. this is the extent of the president's interest in ukraine, and they go on to talk about other things. and then they hang up. and david holmes turns to the ambassador and says in language which i will have

david holmes took notes in ambassador holmes meetings about the message to the ukrainians. >> shortlyreafter, on august 37th, ambassador bolton visits ukraine and brought welcome news that president trump had agreed to meet pretty zelensky on september 1st in warsaw. ambassador bolton further indicated that the hold on security assistance would not be lifted prior to the warsaw meeting, where it would hang on whether president zelensky was able to favorably impress president trump. >> let's think about that for a minute. unless you have something further to say. let's think about that for a minute. bolton further indicated that the hold on security assistance would not be lifted prior to the warsaw meeting, where it would hang on whether president zelensky was able to favorably impress president trump. what do you think would favorably impress president trump? what were the only two thing that president trump asked of president zelensky? what were the two things that rudy guiliani was asking of president zelensky and his top aids? what would favorably impress donald trump? would donal

david holmes, u.s. political counselor said giuliani, a private lawyer was taking a direct role in ukrainian diplomacy. it's bad enough that the president ordered u.s. diplomat to quote talk to rudy about ukraine. the scheme got worse. the evidence showed that ukrainian officials also came to recognize the important role of mr. giuliani. on july 10, 2019 andriy yermak the top aide to president zelensky sent a text to ambassador volker about rudy giuliani here do not text the ukrainian officials said this quote thank you for meeting and your clear and logical position. will be great to meet with you before my departure and discuss. i feel that the key for many things is rudy and i'm ready to talk with him at any time. let me repeat that. the key for many things is rudy. so the president used his personal agent to conduct his scheme with ukraine. they were in frequent contact, everyone white house officials and ukrainian officials knew they had no choice but to deal with giuliani. what was mr. giuliani do

he is one dumb mother-funner. ( laughter ) holmes-- holmes is best known for overhearing trump's phonel with gordon sondland in a ukrainian restaurant-- but trump says that's impossible. ( as trump ) "i have been watching people making phone calls my entire life. my hearing is, and has been, great. never have i been watching a person making a call, which was not on speakerphone, and been able to hear or understand a conversation." ( laughter ) really? really? ( cheers and applause ) really? maybe because you've been watching phone calls. ( laughter ) try listening to them. ( as trump ) "no matter how wide i open my eyes, i couldn't hear a thing. i might need glasses." ( laughter ) the other witness today was former white house advisor and role that's going to finally win laurie metcalf an oscar, fiona hill. dr. hill grew up in england and came into the hearing with a reputation for not suffering fools lightly. once a boy in her class set one of her pigtails on fire while she was taking a test. she put the fire out with her hands, then finished the test. oh my gosh! ( cheers and applaus

. >>> there's a new twist in the case against theranos founder elizabeth holmes.lamming the prosecution. >>> first we're saying thank you to vic lee. >> yes. >> this is bitter sweet. vic filed his last story on abc7 news wrapping up a legendary 50-year career. >> what a man. >> i know. >> he sits right by us. always such a joy to see him. all of us here at abc7 mornings wish vic a happy retirement. vic will say good-bye later today at 4:00 p.m. it will not be the same in this building or in this market without him on the streets, making them be accountable, telling us how it is. >> getting all the scoops. >> there's no one that can replac you know, the happiest place on earth, but... have you flown the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy? or channeled your inner jedi? you gotta love that... have you raced through radiator springs? or struck a power pose with them? now is the perfect time to feel like this... and this... and definitely that. kids enjoy the magic for just $67 per child per day, with a 3-day 1-park per day ticket. >>> harvey weinstein has been threate

. >> i'm michael holmes. coming up on jury trial cnn newsroom," the impeachment trial nears, democrats say he will force votes on witnesses and documents. >>> also this hour prince harry saying he is sad but that there was no other option. his reaction to the announcement that me and meghan will no longer represent the queen. >>> and china is reporting more cases of a new strain of coronavirus, the outbreak spreads beyond the city where it was first identified. >>> tlhere you have it, 36 hour and counting until the impeachment trial of donald trump is set to begin. >> both sides already making the case, the democratic leader in the u.s. senate promising a battle, chuck schumer telling reporters sunday night he will push for more evidence on the abuse of power and the obstruction of congress charges against the president. he needs 51 votes to succeed. >> we will force votes on witnesses and documents, and it will be up to four republicans to side with the constitution, to side with our democracy, to side with

. >> reporter: in holme stead valley. >> driveway is gone. >> reporter: turned nasty.mountain, cascaded down the lane. >> white water rafting. >> reporter: predictably tough going everywhere. only place it might have been worthwhile, along highway 175, upper regions of lake county looking like tahoe. >> in the east bay, rain cameame down, rain drops bouncing off the asphalt. even the umbrella wasn't enough to keep people from getting wet. >> san francisco received a soaking from the storm. standing water on interstate 280. moderate flooding on city streets as well. people caught up in the downpours had to change up their routines. >> had to go slower with babies, to be safe. >> reporter: slippery highway 17, well known for spinouts and collisions with minute precipitation. most dramatic, in scots valley. >> hailstorm, thunder and lightning, went out and made snowballs and fooled around it in. >> happening now, cal trans crews keeping eyen the 80, traffic is sparse but chains are required. when weather like this hits, track with live doppler 7 on the abc7 news app. tap

we hear remarks from fox news sunday's chris wallace, eleanor holmes norton, and lloyd abrams.his is one hour and 10 minutes. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. walter to the news forum. we welcome you tonight to welcome the newseum and the first amendment and to look to a new chapter in it i would like to look to several of the founding partners we have with us this evening, leslie hill and carol, ryan and myra, arthur, and robin. [applause] jan: we are also honored to have several trustees in attendance. shelby, phil, david, jack gutierrez, jack kirschenbaum, john lee, charles, mike regan,rd, john, mike, and barbara walkure [applause] -- while. -- and barbara while. -- wall. [applause] jan: after more than 11 years, the newseum will close its doors on pennsylvania avenue at the end of the month. while the closure saddens us, we are heartened that nearly 10 million visitors walked through our doors to experience a story of news, the role of the free press in history, and how the core freedoms of the first amendment -- religion, speech, assembly, and petition -- are applied to

remember, ambassador doud peptalk to david holmes about his conversation he overheard between mr. solomon and the president of the tragic but ambassador tatar was a star witness. he never brought it up at david holmes is brought in the last week with i overheard this conversation at a restaurant in kiev and that's supposed to be -- that doesn't change a underlying facts just like someone telling the "new york times" that they think the draft manuscript of john bones of books is something. that doesn't change anything. let's get on with this. the american people want us to get on with it so we get back to the work. >> what about the timeline? >> investigations -- bolton is saying they were. why would you want to -- [shouting] >> don't you want your would yesterday? >> i think is put at adam schiff should've done that on the house side or goodness sake. >> everyone needs to just take a deep breath and remember one thing. in our constitutional system the senate has one important job first. this is what the defense team is going to present today and explained very clearly. they have t

i'm michael holmes. >> and i'm natalie allen.ing up this hour on cnn newsroom, lawmakers are preparing for a battle as mr. trump's impeachment trial nears. the top democrat says he'll force votes on witnesses and documents. >> after a weekend of threats of violence, hate groups are expected to descend on the virginia state capital for a gun rights rally. >> we'll have a live interview about that. plus china is reporting more cases of a new strain of a coronavirus as the outbreak spreads beyond the city where it was first identified. >> well, it is just after midnight in washington. three years to the day that donald trump was inaugurated as u.s. president. >> and now that presidency hangs in the balance with his historic impeachment trial about to get underway. the trial begins tuesday, and the democratic leader in the u.s. senate is promising a battle. chuck schumer seen right there told reporters sunday night he will push for more evidence on the abuse of power and obstruction of congress charges against the president. he will

july is the month of that conversation between sondland and david holmes where holmes says can you tell me candidly here what the president thinks of ukraine. does he give a blanket of ukraine? no computers and get a blank of ukraine. he only cares about the big stuff. there's kind of big stuff here like the war with the russians. no, no, big stuff that affects him personally like the biden investigation. that's the month of july. august we have that meeting between giuliani and your your n madrid. you commit and publicly announced the investigations. you go first give the date and then announced the investigations. we will give a statement that doesn't mention the specifics. give a statement that mentions, that is the month of august. august is also the month where it becomes clear that it's not just the meeting anymore. it's everything. everything is conditioned on these investigations. the relationship of the money, the meeting. sondland and homes testify. it is as simple as two plus two equals four. that's august. september, sondland says everything is conditioned on public announce

july is the month of that conversation between sondland and david holmes where holmes says can you tell me candidly here what the president thinks of ukraine. does he give a blanket of ukraine? no computers and get a blank of ukraine. he only cares about the big stuff. there's kind of big stuff here like the war with the russians. no, no, big stuff that affects him personally like the biden investigation. that's the month of july. august we have that meeting between giuliani and your your n madrid. you commit and publicly announced the investigations. you go first give the date and then announced the investigations. we will give a statement that doesn't mention the specifics. give a statement that mentions, that is the month of august. august is also the month where it becomes clear that it's not just the meeting anymore. it's everything. everything is conditioned on these investigations. the relationship of the money, the meeting. sondland and homes testify. it is as simple as two plus two equals four. that's august. september, sondland says everything is conditioned on public announce

david holmes, the u.s. political counselor in kiev, said guiliani, a private lawyer, was taking a direct role in ukrainian diplomacy. bad enough that the president ordered u.s. diplomats to, quote, talk to rudy about ukraine. the scheme got worse. the evidence shows that ukrainian officials also came to recognize the important role of mr. guiliani. on july 10th, 2019, andriy yermak, the top aide to president zelensky, sent a text to ambassador volker about rudy giuliani. in that text, the ukrainian official said this, quote, thank you for meeting and your clear and very logical position will be great meet with you before my departure and discuss. i feel that the key for many things is rudy, and i ready to talk with him at any time. let me repeat that. quote, the key for many things is rudy. so the president used his personal agent to conduct his scheme with ukraine. they were in frequent contact. everyone, white house officials and ukrainian officials knew they had no choice but to deal with guiliani. what

david holmes response was you know there is some big stuff going on here like a war with russia. this isn't withholding aid to because of a revolution in egypt, this is withholding aid from a country in which 15,000 people have died fighting the russians. as ambassador taylor said and others, rushes fighting to remake the map of europe by dint of military force. we think that is just about ukraine's security, we are very deceived -- it is about our security. it's about the tens of thousands of troops that we have in europe and if we undercut our own ally, if we give russia reason to believe we don't have their back, they will use ukraine as a plaything or worse to get them to help us cheat in election, that will only embolden putin to do more. the only thing he respects his strength, do you think that looks like strength? i think that looks like something vladimir putin is only too accustomed to and that is the kind of corruption that he finds and perpetuates in his own regime and he pushes all around the world. my colleague made reference to a conversation which i think is anoth

. >> reporter: in holme stead valley. >> driveway is gone. >> reporter: turned nasty. water poured off the mountain, cascaded down the lane. >> white water rafting. >> reporter: predictably tough going everywhere. only place it might have been worthwhile, along highway 175, upper regions of lake county looking like tahoe. >> in the east bay, rain came e down, rain drops bouncing off the asphalt. even the umbrella wasn't enough to keep people from getting wet. >> san francisco received a soaking from the storm. standing water on interstate 280. moderate flooding on city streets as well. people caught up in the downpours had to change up their routines. >> had to go slower with babies, to be safe. >> reporter: slippery highway 17, well known for spinouts and collisions with minute precipitation. most dramatic, in scots valley. >> hailstorm, thunder and lightning, went out and made snowballs and fooled around it in. >> happening now, cal trans crews keeping eyen the 80, traffic is sparse but chains are required. when weather like this hits, track with live doppler 7 on th

david holmes testified that president trump asked sondland, so he is going to do the investigation? and sondland replied he's going to do it, adding that president zelensky will do anything you ask him to. after the phone call, holmes asked ambassador sondland for his candidate impression of the president's views on ukraine. according to holmes... >> i asked ambassador sondland if it was true that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. ambassador sondland agreed that the president did not give an expletive about ukraine. i asked why not and ambassador sondland said the president only cares about big stuff. i noted that there was big stuff going on in ukraine, like a war with russia. ambassador sondland replied that he meant big stuff that benefits the president, like the biden investigation that mr. giuliani was pushing. the conversation then moved onto other topics. >> those three days in july, the 24th, the 25th, and the 26th reveal a lot about president trump's effort to solicit help from a foreign country in assisting his own reelection. on the 24th, special coun

sondland tells david holmes he's going to do it.of course, that's the only thing the president asked about in that call. sondland says he's going to do it, adding that zelenski will do anything you ask him to do, including apparently be his pawn. now, although sondland didn't remember the details of this conversation, he did not dispute david holmes recollection of the effect ambassador sondland had interesting take on it, which you should hear. actually, actually i would even more surprised if president trump had not mentioned investigation, thickly given what we were hearing from mr. giuliani about the president's concerns. >> that's pretty telling. that in this cause the day after he's had this had to stay call, they finally got the call arranged between these two presidents, and ambassador sondland, a major supporter of the president, says i would've been more surprised if he didn't bring it up. the president doesn't bring up the war with russia. doesn't bring up anything else. he just bringse this up, and sondland confirms yeah

. >> i'm michael holmes in atlanta. now that the u.s. has killed iran's top military commander, the question echoing around the world, what's next? we only know for certain that tehran has vowed harsh revenge for the death of qasem soleimani. a funeral going on right now for the deputy leader for the leader of the militia in iraq who died alongside soleimani. >> despite dramatically raising the risk of conflict, the trump administration has no qualms about taking out soleimani. u.s. officials say intelligence pointed to his plotted imminent attacks against americans. here's what the u.s. secretary of state and the u.s. president said on friday. >> president trump's decision to remove qasem soleimani from the battlefield saved american lives. he was plotting in the region to take action, a big action, as he described it, that would have put dozens, if not hundreds of american lives at risk. this was imminent. it was an intelligence-based assessment that drove our process. he was working actively and was disrupted. >> we take comfort in kn

holmes, so let's watch. >> now at dr. hill are you aware of any allegations supporting vice president biden? >> i'm not, no. >> and in fact, mr. holmes, the former prosecutor general of the ukraine who vice president biden encouraged to fire was actually corrupt, is that right? >> corrupt. >> my understanding is, the prosecutor general at the time, shokin, was not at that time pursuing investigations. >> and removing that prosecutor general -- not just us but all of our allies and others that are involved in the ukraine at the time. >> ambassador yovanovitch also confirmed this point. >> infect when vice president biden asked you to remove the former corrupt prosecutor in the ukraine, did he do so as part of an official united states poli policy? >> official u.s. policy that was endorsed and was the policy of number of other international stakeholders. other countries and monetary institutions. >> and similarly when asked if there was any investigation, george kent replied none whatsoever. ms. williams also confirmed that

david holmes' response was, well, you know there's some big stuff going on here, like a war with russia. this isn't withholding aid because of a revolution in egypt. this is withholding aid from a country in which 15,000 people have died fighting the russians. and as ambassador taylor said and others, you know, russia is fighting to remake the map of europe by military force. if we think that's just about ukraine's security, we are very deceived. it's about our security. it's about the tens of thousands of troops that we have in europe, and if we undercut our own ally, if we give russia reason to believe we will not have their back, that we'll use ukraine as a play thing or worse, to get them to help us cheat in an election, that will only embolden putin to do more. you said it as often as i have, the only thing he respects is strength. you think that looks like strength of vladimir putin. i think that looks like something that vladimir putin is only too accustomed too, and that is the kind of corruption that he finds, that he perpetuates in his own regime, and pushes all around the wor

david holmes, u.s. political counselor said giuliani, a private lawyer was taking a direct role in ukrainian diplomacy. it's bad enough that the president ordered u.s. diplomat to quote talk to rudy about ukraine. the scheme got worse. the evidence showed that ukrainian officials also came to recognize the important role of mr. giuliani. on july 10, 2019 andriy yermak the top aide to president zelensky sent a text to ambassador volker about rudy giuliani here do not text the ukrainian officials said this quote thank you for meeting and your clear and logical position. will be great to meet with you before my departure and discuss. i feel that the key for many things is rudy and i'm ready to talk with him at any time. let me repeat that. the key for many things is rudy. so the president used his personal agent to conduct his scheme with ukraine. they were in frequent contact, everyone white house officials and ukrainian officials knew they had no choice but to deal with giuliani. what was mr. giuliani do

david holmes took notes in ambassador bolton's meetings and testified about amend bolton's message to the ukrainians. >> shortly thereafter on august 27th amend bolton visited ukraine and brought welcome news that president trump had agreed to meet president zelensky on september 1st in warsaw. amend bolton further indicated the hold on security assistance would not be lifted prior to the warsaw meeting, where it would hang on whether president zelensky was able to, quote, favorably impress president trump. >> let's think about that for a minute -- let's think about that for a minute. bolton further indicated that the hold on security assistance would not be lifted prior to the warsaw meeting where it would hang on whether president zelensky was able to favorably impress president trump. what do you think would favorably impress president trump? what were the only two things that president trump asked of president zelensky. what are the two things that rudy giuliani was asking president zelensky and his top aides? what would favorably impress donald trump? would donald trump be favora

i'm michael holmes.couple minutes. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello to our viewers all around the world. i'm michael holmes. we're on top of breaking news this hour. a serious escalation in the simmering conflict between the u.s. and iran. the pentagon confirming that president trump ordered a strike against top-raining military commander qassim soleimani. we'll hear from nick paton walsh later in the program. let's talk about soleimani. he was the leader of the qud force and

. >>> cnn's kristen holmes is traveling with the president.e know he was taking a victory lap last night. there are several democrats still questioning the necessity of this attack on the general. what are you learning, and what is the president saying to them? >> well, christi, yes. like everything in washington, there's a deep divide between mainly democrats and republicans. you heard the republicans praising president trump where democrats were more skeptical. they're being very careful. they know soleimani is a bad guy. they don't want to seem like they're praising him or he shouldn't have been killed. where the skepticism comes in is whether or not president trump should have consulted members of congress. but he didn't talk to the gaung of eight. he didn't bring in any democrats or republican leadership on what he planned on doing. now the question is was it necessary and is there going to be some kind of attack and are the consequences going to escalate? what was the reason behind this? this is what president trump said last night. >> h

holmes explained quote, i think the ukrainians are being very careful. they still need us now going forward. in fact, right now president zelensky is trying to arraign a summit meeting with president putin in the coming weeks his first face-to-face meeting with him to try to advance the peace process. he needs our support. he needs president putin to understand that america supports zelensky at the highest levels. this does not need to end with the security assistance hold. ukraine is still needs us and as i said, still fighting this war this very day. one president trump for his own personal, political gain asked for a favor from president zelensky he did exactly what the framers feared most. he invited the influence of a foreign power into our elections and he used the power of his office to secure that advantage and jeopardize our national security. yet, president trump maintains he was always in the right and that his july 25 call with president zelensky was perfect. president trump has made it clear he believes he is free to use his powers the same

what does it mean -- >> the answer to that is what gordon sondland said to holmes in the restaurant in only cares about things that affect him personally. and if this is allowed to pass, if a president is allowed to violate the laws as the gao found to withhold money for his own personal political gain, then all bets are off with future presidents. i hope we never see one like this again. even though i agree with a lot of his policies, but where are the boundaries? the boundaries are gone. the constitutional norm is gone if the senate doesn't do the right thing here. >> new polling, new endorsements, new attack, all the latest in the democratic primaries and caucuses as one candidate surges ahead in the early states with one week to iowa. that's next. to be honest a little dust it never bothered me. until i found out what it actually was. dust mite droppings! eeeeeww! dead skin cells! gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty dusters. duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha! and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweeper's on it. the textured clo

kristen holmes in florida. thank you. >>> if iran does choose to respond with force, israel would be one target. israel is assessing its security this morning. oren liebermann is live for us on the israel/lebanon border. you've been reporting that netanyahu is returning to israel early. >> reporter: prime minister benjamin netanyahu was on a state visit to greece. it was going to wrap up tomorrow. but netanyahu will be returning early. that as the defense minister calls a security assessment in the defense ministry in tel aviv, with staff and security officials. at this point, there are no additional limitations on israeli civilians in northern israel. that could change in a heartbeat if israel gets the sense it might be the target of iran's reaction. why would israel worry about that? iran's proxy, ez bole hezbollah across the border here. a flag moves on a hill behind me in lebanon. that's an option. 100,000 rockets and missiles that hezbollah has that could be directed towards israel. it could come from prox

according to david holmes, the ukraine-based u.s. as the notetaker, the ukrainian leader mentioned that president trump had brought up some very sensitive issues during the july 25th call. very sensitive issues. ambassador sondland then had a private meeting with andre yermak, president zelensky's top aide. the two men insisted that the meeting be one on one. with no note taker. perhaps, due to the sensitive issues that might come up. ambassador sondland testified that he and president zelensky's aide probably discussed the issue of investigations. after these key moments in ukraine, ambassador sondland went to lunch with david holmes and two other american officials. mr. holmes sat directly across from ambassador sondland. close enough to hear the details of an extraordinary telephone call between mr. sondland and president trump. as mr. homes relayed during his sworn testimony, under oath, ambassador sondland pulled out his unsecured cell phone and said that he was going to call president trump to give him an update. what happened

what you saw that lawyer just do is to ignoring the evidence, and ignoring the call that david holmeseen bill clinton and gordon sondland. >> between trump and sondland. >> yes, sorry, president trump. >> and he said that you could not mistake it. >> the big booming voice. >> and he said, are they going to do the investigations, and that is all he cared about, and then holmes asked sondland, does the president care about ukraine and he doesn't give a expletive about about ukraine, but what he wants. and so that is what is impeachable that he is not caring about the interest of the nation, and he did it because it is a pressure point to get the guys in ukraine to do the bidding to help him to get re-elected. >> you have alluded to the fact that you have heard president trump on the phone, and let me acknowledge to the viewers that you are obviously kellyanne conway's husband and she is counsel to president trump. >> you don't have to be the spouse of a senior trump official to know that he is loud on the phone. people at cnn know that he is loud, too. >> yes, i can personally attest th

i'm michael holmes. and the headlines for you this hour, a ban on the sale of wild animals now in effect across china. a market in wuhan that sold wild animals is the suspected source of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 50 people. >>> meanwhile, the country's transportation lockdown has been extended to the southern port city of shantou in guangdong province. >>> u.s. president donald trump's defense team wrapped up its first day of argument at his impeachment trial. they tried to make the case that mr. trump did nothing wrong in his dealings with ukraine and that removing him from office would amount to undoing an election. >>> well, mr. trump's attorneys are so far keeping their defense brief with day one in the books. cnn's kaitlan collins looks at what we can expect as the rest of the senate trial unfolds. >> reporter: there are sources who say the president is pleased with how the performance went today. of course it was pretty brief. only two hours. that was the first time we've h

kristin holmes following the latest -- christian holmes following the latest. the president is revealing what he claims the administration was targeting. >> reporter: that's right. we want to back up here. this is all about the justification for launching this air strike that killed soleimani. was there sufficient evidence to essentially launch drones that killed the second most-powerful man in iran. lawmakers are both sides of the aisle are pressuring the administration to see some of this evidence. the big question here is was there an attack, was there an imminent attack? it depends on who you ask. we have heard from numerous national security administration officials of who really have contradicted each other. they've said for days there was an imminent attack to an unknown timeline. when it comes to justification, we've heard multiple different story lines from president trump himself. earlier on thursday he said it was an attack to blow up the embassy on baghdad. later on thursday he said that soleimani was planning attacks on numerous next including outs

david holmes a diplomat at u.s. embassy in key have testified he was shocked by the hold. although the was an initial, initially some question as to whether called applied to dod funds which was already cleared by congress, it soon became clear that hold applied to all 391 million. kim morrison testified dod officials raise raised concernt any on july 23 about whether it was quote actually legally permissible for the president to not allow for the disbursement of the funding. these concerns related to possible violations of the impoundment control act comes along against the president the president the authority to delay or withhold funds only if congress is notified of those contentions and approves the proposed action. of course neither of those things had been done. the issue was as good quickly and at a senior level meeting on july 26 omb remained the lone voice for holding the aid. according to tim morrison omb said president trump was concerned about corruption and ukraine. cooper from duty also attended the july meeting. she received no further understanding of what