“First time I heard it,” Trump told reporters in the East Room during a press conference with the Turkish president when asked about the call, which was described by a U.S. diplomat in public testimony earlier Wednesday.

Trump also dismissed the details about the alleged call as “secondhand information” and repeated that it was the first he had heard of it.

William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified Wednesday that he was told by a staffer that Trump called Sondland on July 26 to inquire about investigations sought by his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

The phone call as described by Taylor came one day after Trump asked Ukraine’s president to pursue investigations into 2016 election interference and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son’s business dealings in Ukraine.

The staffer told Taylor that following the call, Sondland said Trump cared more about investigations into Biden than he did about matters in Ukraine, according to Taylor’s account.

Taylor was one of two State Department officials who testified Wednesday in the first public hearing of House Democrat’s impeachment hearing.

Trump labeled the House impeachment inquiry a “sham” that “shouldn’t be allowed” when asked for his reaction to the hearing, which had just concluded, earlier during the press conference.

“You’re talking about the witch hunt,” Trump said, adding that he didn’t watch the proceedings.

“I hear it’s a joke,” Trump continued, saying he was told the witnesses testifying Wednesday relied on “thirdhand information.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/470356-trump-denies-knowledge-of-call-mentioned-in-impeachment-hearing