Ukraine.[1] Ambassador Taylor relayed that according to the OMB representative on the call, the pause was done at the direction of the President and the chief of staff.[2] Although a reason was not provided for the pause at the time, OMB official Mark Sandy testified that he learned in early September 2019 that the pause was related "to the President's concern about other countries contributing more to Ukraine."[3]
Despite the pause, testimony from the Democrats' witnesses suggests the assistance was not linked to Ukraine investigating President Trump's political rival. Ambassador Volker, the key intermediary between the Ukrainian government and U.S. officials, testified that he was aware of no quid pro quo and that the Ukrainian government never raised concerns to him about a quid pro quo.[4] He said that when Ambassador Taylor raised questions about the appearance of a quid pro quo, "I discussed with him that there is no linkage here. I view this as an internal thing, and we are going to get it fixed."[5] Ambassador Volker further explained that even if Ukrainians perceived the aid was linked to investigations, they "never raised" that possibility with him.[6] Ambassador Volker believed that given the trust he had developed with the Ukrainian government, the Ukrainians would have come to him with concerns about the security assistance.[7]
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff attempted to get Ambassador Volker to testify in his closed-door deposition that the Ukrainian government would have felt pressure to investigate President Trump's political rival once they learned that the security assistance was delayed.[8] Ambassador Volker refused to accept Chairman Schiff's conclusion. He testified:
Q. The request is made. And even though the suspension may have occurred earlier, the request is made to investigate the Bidens, and then Ukraine learns, for mysterious reasons, hundreds of millions in military support is being withheld. Do I have the chronology correct?
A. Yes.
Q. At the point they learned that, wouldn't that give them added urgency to meet the President's request on the Bidens? A. I don't know the answer to that. The—
- ↑ Taylor deposition, supra note 47, at 27.
- ↑ Id. at 28.
- ↑ Deposition of Mark Sandy, in Wash., D.C., at 42 (Nov. 16, 2019). Sandy testified that in early September, OMB received "requests for information on what additional countries were contributing to Ukraine." Id. at 44. OMB provided that information sometime in the first week of September. Id. at 82.
- ↑ Volker transcribed interview, supra note 60, at 170, 300-01.
- ↑ Id. at 130.
- ↑ Id. at 284.
- ↑ Id. at 300-01.
- ↑ Id. at 124-28.
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