Newly-released documents from US government agencies provide more detail into the timeline of Donald Trump's decision to withhold planned military aid to Ukraine, a move the Democrats allege was used as a leverage to pressure Kiev into helping boost Trump's electoral chances.
According to records of exchanges between government officials, the Pentagon was ordered to halt military aid to Ukraine shortly after Donald Trump's now-infamous 25 July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That call is at the centre of the ongoing impeachment process. In it, Trump asked Zelensky to “look into” the allegations that Ukraine helped Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and the role Joe Biden had in firing the chief prosecutor who had investigated the Ukrainian gas company that employed Biden's son, Hunter.
Redacted documents released on Friday by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Pentagon under a Freedom of Information Act request show that the aid freeze was ordered less than two hours after the 25 July call.
Following that conversation, senior OMB official and Trump political appointee Mike Duffey wrote to select OMB and Pentagon officials: “Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration's plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional DoD obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process.”
Duffey…
