There was no “quid pro quo” requested of Ukraine related to security aid, former U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker told lawmakers in a closed-door session.
Sources familiar with Volker’s testimony Thursday said the former diplomat rejected repeated assertions by House Democrats that Trump dangled security aid in exchange for cooperation from Ukraine in investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
“He testified that the Ukrainians were not pressured, they never raised the issue of a quid pro quo with Volker, and they did not view the president’s call or subsequent interactions to be inappropriate,” the source told the Washington Examiner.
Volker spent eight hours talking privately to lawmakers and staff from three committees conducting an impeachment inquiry centered on Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Democrats accuse the president of offering a quid pro quo of security aid if Zelensky would look into charges that Joe Biden pressured the country to fire a prosecutor targeting a Ukrainian gas company paying Hunter Biden $50,000 per month.
Volker appears to have rejected claims by Democrats that Trump had escalated pressure on the country to act against the Bidens by temporarily withholding the security aid. That includes House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.
“Volker repeatedly refuted Chairman’s Schiff’s claim that Ukraine felt pressured to investigate Biden,” the source said.
Democratic lawmakers who sat in on the deposition reported Volker provided evidence proving the opposite: that Trump indeed asked for a quid pro quo in exchange for security aid.
“We saw further evidence that there was a shadow shakedown going on, and the lead deputy for the president was Rudy Giuliani,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, adding that the testimony provided “more and more evidence” Trump used his office to “leverage help from an ally” to benefit him politically.
But Republicans in the room said Volker tamped down the idea that Ukraine was being asked to help Trump in order to receive the security aid.
“There was definitely no quid pro quo, it was asked 20 different times,” Rep. Mark Meadows said Thursday after Volker left. “The American people need to see the transcripts.”
Volker told lawmakers Trump’s interest in investigating Ukrainian corruption were “valid, but not based on the narrative being pushed by Giuliani,” a source who heard the deposition said. “Volker saw this as a problem and believed connecting Giuliani with the right people in Ukraine was in the best interest of U.S. national security.”
Volker, in his opening statement to lawmakers, said he initially connected Zelensky with Giuliani at Zelensky’s request.
“I did so solely because I understood that the new Ukrainian leadership wanted to convince those, like Mayor Giuliani, who believed such a negative narrative about Ukraine, that times have changed and that, under President Zelensky, Ukraine is worthy of U.S. support,” he said.
Volker told lawmakers that Ukraine did not learn that security aid had been withheld until late August, about a month after the July 25 phone call with Trump.
“Volker didn’t believe the hold would be sustained and communicated this view to the Ukrainians,” the source said.
Volker also told lawmakers he didn’t oppose a Ukraine-led investigation into 2016 election interference by Ukrainians.
“Volker does not believe this occurred but believed having it reviewed and settled was appropriate,” the source said.
Volker praised Trump’s policy toward Ukraine and noted that Barack Obama resisted providing aid to the country, and that “encouraged Russian aggression, in Volker’s view.”
Democrats in the intelligence panel earlier Friday leaked selected text messages from senior diplomat Bill Taylor to Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, stating, “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
But in the closed-door deposition, Volker told lawmakers Taylor’s statement was based on a media report, not independent information.
The text was tweeted out by Oversight Committee Democrats but has since been deleted.
