believed that President Trump would not release the aid until Ukraine announced the two investigations the President wanted.847
Ambassador Sondland testified: "Secretary Pompeo essentially gave me the green light to brief President Zelensky about making those announcements."848 He explained:
This was a proposed briefing that I was going to give President Zelensky, and I was going to call President Zelensky and ask him to say what is in this email. And I was asking essentially … [Secretary] Pompeo's permission to do that, which he said yes.849
He then forwarded the email to Ms. Kenna, seeking confirmation of "10-15 min on the Warsaw sched[ule]" for the pull-aside meeting. The Ambassador stated that he was seeking confirmation in order to brief President Zelensky. Ms. Kenna replied, "I will try for sure."850
On August 24, Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day. According to Mr. Holmes, Ukrainian Independence Day presented "another good opportunity to show support for Ukraine."851 However, nobody senior to Ambassador Volker attended the festivities, even though Secretary of Defense James Mattis attended in 2017 and Ambassador Bolton attended in 2018.852
Two days later, on August 26, Ambassador Bolton's office requested Mr. Giuliani's contact information from Ambassador Sondland. Ambassador Sondland sent Ambassador Bolton the information directly.853 Ambassador Sondland testified that he had "no idea" why Ambassador Bolton requested the contact information.854
Ambassador Bolton Visited Kyiv
On August 27, Ambassador Bolton arrived in Kyiv for an official visit. Ambassador Bolton emphasized to Andriy Bohdan, President Zelensky's chief of staff, that an upcoming meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, scheduled for September 1 in Warsaw, Poland, would be "crucial to cementing their relationship."855 Mr. Holmes, who accompanied Ambassador Bolton in Kyiv, testified that he also heard "Ambassador Bolton express to Ambassador Taylor and Mr. Morrison his frustration about Mr. Giuliani's influence with the President, making clear there was nothing he could do about it."856
Prior to Ambassador Bolton's departure from Kyiv, Ambassador Taylor asked to meet with him privately. Ambassador Taylor expressed his "serious concern about the withholding of military assistance to Ukraine while the Ukrainians were defending their country from Russian aggression."857 During the conversation, Ambassador Bolton "indicated that he was very sympathetic" to Ambassador's Taylor's concerns.858 He advised that Ambassador Taylor "send a first-person cable to Secretary Pompeo directly relaying my concerns" about the withholding of military assistance.859
Mr. Holmes testified that Ambassador Bolton advised during his trip that "the hold on security assistance would not be lifted prior to the upcoming meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky in Warsaw, where it would hang on whether Zelensky was able to
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