Seemingly bombshell testimony by a White House budget official linking two staff resignations to President Trump’s decision to withhold Ukraine aid appears to be contradicted by the departure dates of the officials.
The officials weren’t named in impeachment proceedings testimony released Tuesday, but context made their identities clear to former colleagues. Both left the Office of Management and Budget more than two months after Trump placed a hold on about $400 million in assistance to Ukraine.
Former international aid officer Fouad Saad departed on Sept. 27, more than two weeks after Trump released aid to Ukraine on Sept. 11. Saad left without lining up a new job but gave some colleagues the sense he planned to leave the Washington area after a decade at the office.
Trump placed a hold on the aid on July 3, according to testimony from National Security Council Ukraine Director Alexander Vindman. The hold was known within the budget office since at least July 18.
Charlie McKiver, who worked as an OMB attorney, had a goodbye party with budget office staff in late October. It was widely understood to colleagues that she was leaving to take a promotion as a top attorney at the Government Accountability Office.
McKiver, reached by phone Wednesday by the Washington Examiner, declined to comment, or to dispute the contention that she left to take a promotion rather than in protest over the Ukraine aid. Saad did not immediately respond to a voicemail or text message requesting comment.
In a departure email, Saad wrote, “For the moment at least, I will remain in the DC area,” giving colleagues the sense he was considering relocating. He also had a goodbye party before leaving.
Former colleagues said it appeared Saad left on good terms but had deeper disputes on foreign aid, including over the possibility of the administration deciding not to spend foreign aid through a process called rescission. The office abandoned an effort to do this with Central American aid this year.
“He had nothing to do with Ukraine,” a source told the Washington Examiner, underscoring budget official Mark Sandy’s testimony that Saad “did not oversee” Ukraine aid.
One source with direct knowledge said neither Saad or McKiver informed OMB leadership they were leaving over Ukraine policy.
Sandy is the only budget office official to testify in Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. His testimony about the staff departures was elicited in questioning by the House Intelligence Committee’s investigative counsel Nicholas Mitchell.
Mitchell asked Sandy about Saad: “Did this individual express any concerns about Ukraine security assistance?”
“I’m honestly just trying to recall. I’m not trying to parse my words,” Sandy testified. “As I recall, he expressed some frustrations about not understanding the reason for the hold. That’s my recollection.”
Sandy testified that McKiver expressed concern about the hold on Ukraine assistance, but that he didn’t know if it was the reason she left OMB.
“I never want to attribute that as the, you know, sole purpose for an individual’s actions, but I am aware of their frustrations in that area, yes,” he said.
Most major news outlets headlined stories that the two OMB officials resigned “after” expressing concerns about aid. One former colleague countered: “It’s like saying two officials left after getting a haircut.”
