National Security Counsel staffer Alexander Vindman reportedly testified to Congress that he was certain President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to force Ukraine’s government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
CNN host Jake Tapper reported on Wednesday that the United States official believed Trump was using military aid as leverage to push a foreign government to investigate a political rival.
“Vindman told congressional investigators that he became convinced that President Trump personally was ordering the withholding of $400 million in aid for Ukraine as a way of forcing [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] to publicly announce an investigation into the Bidens,” Tapper said, citing two sources who were present at Vindman’s Tuesday testimony.
Vindman became certain of a quid pro quo on July 10 before the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky that served as the basis of the whistleblower complaint that sparked impeachment proceedings by House Democrats.
U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland met with Ukrainian officials on July 10 and said that Ukraine must launch “specific investigations in order to secure” a meeting with Trump.
Sondland briefed U.S. officials after his meeting with the Ukrainians and “emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma,” according to Vindman.
On Aug. 16, top U.S. officials met with Trump arguing that the U.S. should release the aid to Ukraine. Trump rejected the arguments at the time and refused to release the aid.
