10. President Zelensky never raised a linkage between security assistance and investigations in his meetings with senior U.S. government officials.
Between July 18—the date on which OMB announced the pause on security assistance to Ukraine during an interagency conference call—and September 11—when the pause was lifted—President Zelensky had five separate meetings with high-ranking U.S. government officials. The evidence shows that President Zelensky never raised any concerns in those meeting that he felt pressure to investigate President Trump's political rival or that U.S. security assistance to Ukraine was conditioned on any such investigations.
On July 25, President Zelensky spoke by telephone with President Trump. Although President Zelensky noted a desire to purchase additional Javelin missiles from the United States—an expenditure separate from security assistance—the call summary otherwise does not show that the President discussed a pause on U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.[1]
On July 26, President Zelensky met in Kyiv with Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Taylor, and Ambassador Sondland.[2] According to Ambassador Sondland's closed-door deposition, President Zelensky did not raise any concern about a pause on security assistance or a linkage between the aid and investigations into President Trump's political rival.[3]
On August 27, President Zelensky met in Kyiv with President Trump's then-National Security Advisor John Bolton.[4] According to Ambassador Taylor, President Zelensky and Ambassador Bolton did not discuss U.S. security assistance.[5]
On September 1, President Zelensky met in Warsaw with Vice President Pence, after the existence of the security assistance pause became public. Tim Morrison, Senior Director at the NSC, testified that President Zelensky raised the security assistance directly with Vice President Pence during their meeting.[6] According to Morrison, Vice President Pence relayed President Trump's concern about corruption, the need for reform in Ukraine, and his desire for other countries to contribute more to Ukrainian defense.[7] As Jennifer Williams, senior adviser for Europe in the Office of the Vice President, testified:
Once the cameras left the room, the very first question that President Zelensky had was about the status of security assistance. And the VP responded by really expressing our ongoing support for Ukraine, but wanting to hear from President Zelensky, you know, what the status of his reform efforts were that he could then convey back to
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