military assistance for Ukraine and that they would continue to urge President Trump to lift the hold—as Senator Johnson had already tried, unsuccessfully, before traveling to Ukraine.975
Three Committees Announced Joint Investigation of President's Scheme
On September 9, the Chairs of the House Intelligence Committee, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform publicly announced a joint investigation of the scheme by President Trump and Mr. Giuliani "to improperly pressure the Ukrainian government to assist the President's bid for reelection."976 The Committees had been planning and coordinating this investigation since early summer, after growing public scrutiny of Mr. Giuliani's activities in Ukraine and questions about Ambassador Yovanovitch's abrupt removal following a public smear campaign targeting her.
In a letter sent to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone the same day, the three Chairs stated that President Trump and Mr. Giuliani "appear to have acted outside legitimate law enforcement and diplomatic channels to coerce the Ukrainian government into pursuing two politically-motivated investigations under the guise of anti-corruption activity"—investigations into purported Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election and Vice President Biden and his son.977
With respect to the hold on Ukraine military assistance, the Chairs observed that "[i]f the President is trying to pressure Ukraine into choosing between defending itself from Russian aggression without U.S. assistance or leveraging its judicial system to serve the ends of the Trump campaign, this would represent a staggering abuse of power, a boon to Moscow, and a betrayal of the public trust."978 The Chairs requested that the White House preserve all relevant records and produce them by September 16, including the transcript of the July 25 call between President Trump and President Zelensky.979
On the same day, the Chairs of the three Committees sent a similar letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seeking the preservation and production of all relevant records at the Department of State by September 16.980 To date, and as explained more fully in Section II, Secretary Pompeo has not produced a single document sought by the Committees pursuant to a lawful subpoena.
NSC Senior Director for Russia and Europe Timothy Morrison recalled seeing a copy of the letter that was sent by the three Chairs to the White House.981 He also recalled that the three Committees' Ukraine investigation was discussed at meeting of senior-level NSC staff soon after it was publicly announced.982 The NSC's legislative affairs staff issued a notice of the investigation to NSC staff members, although it is unclear exactly when.983 NSC Director for Ukraine Alexander Vindman recalled discussions among NSC staff members, including Mr. Morrison's deputy, John Erath, that the investigation "might have the effect of releasing the hold" on Ukraine military assistance because it would be "potentially politically challenging" for the Administration to "justify that hold" to the Congress.984
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