that I told him – this is in the media report, and I haven't discussed this with him since that media report – that I had said there was a quid pro quo. And I don't remember telling him that because I'm not sure I knew that at that point. I think what I might have done is I might have been speculating—I hope there's no, I hope this isn't being held up for nefarious reasons.[1]
Although Democrats and some in the media believe that Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney confirmed the existence of a quid pro quo during an October 2019 press briefing,[2] a careful reading of his statements shows otherwise. Chief of Staff Mulvaney cited President Trump's concerns about Ukrainian corruption and foreign aid in general as the "driving factors" in the temporary pause on security assistance.[3] He explained that Ukraine's actions in the 2016 election "was part of the thing that [the President] was worried about in corruption with that nation."[4] Chief of Staff Mulvaney specified, however, that "the money held up had absolutely nothing to do with [Vice President] Biden."[5]
7. Senior U.S. officials never substantively discussed the delay in security assistance with Ukrainian officials before the July 25 call.
Evidence also suggests that the senior levels of the Ukrainian government did not know that U.S. security assistance was delayed until some point after the July 25 phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky. Although the assistance was delayed at the time of the July 25 call, President Trump never raised the assistance with President Zelensky or implied that the aid was in danger. As Ambassador Volker testified, because Ukrainian officials were unaware of the pause on security assistance, "there was no leverage implied."[6] This evidence undercuts the allegation that the President withheld U.S. security assistance to pressure President Zelensky to investigate his political rival.
Most of the Democrats' witnesses, including Ambassador Taylor, traced their knowledge of the pause to a July 18 interagency conference call, during which OMB announced a pause on security assistance to Ukraine.[7] However, the two U.S. diplomats closest the Ukrainian government—Ambassador Volker and Ambassador Taylor—testified that Ukraine did not know about the delay "until the end of August," six weeks later, after it was reported publicly by Politico on August 28.[8]
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Impeachment Inquiry: Dr. Fiona Hill and Mr. David Holmes, supra note 210 (statement of Rep. Adam Schiff, Chairman); Aaron Blake, Trump's acting chief of staff admits it: There was a Ukraine quid pro quo, Wash. Post, Oct. 17, 2019.
- ↑ The White House, Press Briefing by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (Oct. 17, 2019).
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Volker transcribed interview, supra note 60, at 124-25.
- ↑ See, e.g., Taylor deposition, supra note 47, at 27.
- ↑ Volker transcribed interview, supra note 60, at 125, 266-67; Taylor deposition, supra note 47, at 119-20.
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