This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/us/politics/trump-un-biden-ukraine.html

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
Trump Ordered Aid to Ukraine Frozen Days Before Call With Its Leader Trump Said to Have Frozen Aid to Ukraine Before Call With Its Leader
(about 1 hour later)
President Trump directed the acting White House chief of staff to freeze more than $391 million in aid to Ukraine in the days before Mr. Trump was scheduled to speak by phone with the new Ukrainian president, two senior administration officials said Monday. President Trump personally ordered his staff to freeze more than $391 million in aid to Ukraine in the days before he pressed the new Ukrainian president to investigate the Democrats’ leading presidential candidate, two senior administration officials said Monday.
Mr. Trump’s directive was communicated to the Pentagon and the State Department, which were told only that the administration was looking at whether the spending was necessary, the officials said. Mr. Trump issued his directive to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, who conveyed it through the budget office to the Pentagon and the State Department, which were told only that the administration was looking at whether the spending was necessary, the officials said.
The revelation that Mr. Trump ordered the aid package blocked, which was first reported by The Washington Post, adds a vital new element to the raging debate over pressure being put on Ukraine by Mr. Trump to investigate unsubstantiated allegations that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden had engaged in corrupt activities in dealing with Ukraine. The timing of the decision to block the aid and Mr. Trump’s personal involvement, which were first reported by The Washington Post, add vital new elements to the raging debate over the president’s effort to persuade Ukraine to examine unsubstantiated corruption allegations involving former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son.
It came on a day when leading congressional Democrats demanded that the Trump administration turn over documentation about the allegations against the president, and a flood of their colleagues said his actions could warrant impeachment. The revelation came as leading congressional Democrats demanded that the administration turn over documentation about the matter, as a flood of their colleagues said, before news of Mr. Trump’s involvement in freezing the aid, that the president’s actions could warrant impeachment.
Mr. Trump has acknowledged that he mentioned the Bidens in a call on July 25 with the new Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and people familiar with the call have said Mr. Trump repeatedly urged Mr. Zelensky to speak with one of his personal lawyers, Rudolph W. Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani has been pushing Ukraine aggressively to look into the Bidens and the origins of material that implicated Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, in 2016. Several House Democrats from more moderate districts who had long resisted such a move added their voices on Monday to calls for an inquiry that could lead to charges of high crimes and misdemeanors against the president.
Mr. Trump, buffeted by questions about his conduct on a day of international diplomacy at the United Nations, denied that he withheld the aid from Ukraine in an attempt to press President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Mr. Biden.
Mr. Trump, buffeted by questions earlier in the day at the United Nations about his conduct , denied the accusations that he had withheld the aid from Ukraine in an attempt to press Mr. Zelensky to do his bidding. The president also continued to insist he had acted appropriately. “No, I didn’t — I didn’t do it,” Mr. Trump told reporters. But just moments before, he suggested that there would be nothing wrong with linking American funding for Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that is fighting Russian-backed separatists, to a corruption inquiry about Mr. Biden and his family.
“No, I didn’t — I didn’t do it,” Mr. Trump told reporters, when asked whether he had conditioned the aid on the promise of an investigation of unsubstantiated corruption charges against the former vice president and his son. But not long before, the president had suggested that there would be nothing wrong with his linking funding for Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that is fighting Russian-backed separatists, to a corruption inquiry about Mr. Biden and his family.
“Why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?” Mr. Trump said.“Why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?” Mr. Trump said.
It was one of a series of whipsawing declarations Mr. Trump made throughout the day on Monday as he defended himself, vilified the Bidens and appeared by turns eager and reluctant to reveal the facts at the root of the allegations. Mr. Trump first said he hoped that the transcript of the July 25 phone call with Mr. Zelensky would be released, claiming that it would exonerate him, only to angrily deny moments later that he had committed to doing so. It was one of a series of whipsawing declarations Mr. Trump made throughout the day on Monday as he defended himself, vilified the Bidens and appeared by turns eager and reluctant to reveal the facts at the root of the allegations. Mr. Trump first said he hoped that the transcript of a July 25 phone call he had with Mr. Zelensky would be released, claiming that it would exonerate him, only to angrily deny moments later that he had committed to doing so.
“I hope you get to see it soon,” Mr. Trump said, before arguing that making the transcript public would set a bad precedent. “I hope you get to see it soon,” Mr. Trump said, before arguing that making the transcript public would set a bad precedent — a position that one person familiar with White House deliberations said was being advanced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Mr. Biden chimed in via the president’s favorite platform, Twitter, responding to Mr. Trump’s dismissal of charges of misconduct by writing, “So release the transcript of the call then.”Mr. Biden chimed in via the president’s favorite platform, Twitter, responding to Mr. Trump’s dismissal of charges of misconduct by writing, “So release the transcript of the call then.”
House Democrats were doing everything they could to try to force Mr. Trump’s hand, even as they weighed voting on a resolution this week condemning his actions. At the same time, the chorus of lawmakers demanding impeachment grew louder, underscoring how the latest revelations about the president have touched off a seismic shift under Democrats’ feet. Mr. Trump has acknowledged raising Mr. Biden and the corruption questions with Mr. Zelensky in the July 25 telephone call. People familiar with the conversation said Mr. Trump repeatedly urged his counterpart to speak with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, who has been pushing Ukraine aggressively to look into the Bidens and any contacts that the previous government in Kiev had with Democrats during the 2016 campaign.
Seven freshman House Democrats with military and national security experience — most of whom have been reluctant to call for impeachment — spoke out Monday night in a strongly worded opinion article in The Washington Post, saying the House should begin impeachment hearings if necessary to get the information lawmakers need to evaluate the allegations. Mr. Trump did not discuss the delay in the military assistance on the July 25 call with Mr. Zelensky, according to people familiar with the conversation. A Ukrainian official said Mr. Zelensky’s government did not learn of the delay until about one month after the call.
Congressional Democrats have said that if the president really pressured Ukraine for dirt on a domestic political rival, it could be an impeachable offense whether or not he tied the demand to American aid. But if evidence emerges that the president linked the two, it would likely bolster the case of critics who call that an abuse of power.
The decision to hold back the aid, which had been approved by Congress, came at a time when the president was looking for ways to curb a variety of foreign assistance programs and some aides at least initially saw it in that broader context. But Mr. Trump singled out Ukraine as a place he considered corrupt and railed about wasting money there, according to people who heard him discuss the matter, and he questioned the aid package for weeks.
The president asked advisers how to think about Mr. Zelensky, a former comedian outside the Ukrainian establishment who was largely unknown to American policymakers and had shown little interest in Mr. Giuliani’s calls for investigations related to American politics.
It soon became clear that the Ukraine aid freeze was different from the hold placed on other programs. Even after other foreign aid was restored, the money for Ukraine remained blocked.
The suspension of the aid caused confusion and frustration in both Washington and Kiev for months. Mr. Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials were mystified and complained to visiting American lawmakers. For five years, Russia has sponsored separatists in eastern Ukraine and the government in Kiev had relied on American and European security aid.
American government officials were left in the dark as well. When staff members at the State Department and Defense Department who work on issues related to Ukraine learned of the holds in July, they were puzzled and alarmed, according to current and former government officials familiar with the situation.
The assistance came in two pots overseen by different agencies — $250 million from the Defense Department’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and $141 from the State Department’s foreign military financing program. The funds were intended to help train and equip Ukrainian forces in their fight to stave off Russian incursion.
Congressional committees had approved the defense assistance to the Ukrainian military in two separate tranches — the first in early April and the second in early June, shortly after the Pentagon submitted the spending for approval, according to the officials.
That cleared the way for the administration to finalize the release of the assistance. The Defense Department had already begun processing some of those funds and officials worried that if the White House did not release the funding before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 it would be lost.
Defense and State Department staff were frustrated when they sought explanations or resolution from the White House Office of Management and Budget and contacted the offices of members of Congress considered sympathetic to the cause.
The administration initially explained that the assistance was being reviewed to determine whether it was in the best interest of American foreign policy. Some officials maintained that position on Monday.
But Vice President Mike Pence later said that the review was based on concerns from the White House about “issues of corruption.” Without detailing those concerns, Mr. Pence, after a meeting with Mr. Zelensky in Warsaw on the sidelines of a commemoration of the outbreak of World War II, told reporters that “to invest additional taxpayer in Ukraine, the president wants to be assured that those resources are truly making their way to the kind of investments that will contribute to security and stability in Ukraine.”
A handful of Republican and Democratic senators who belong to a bipartisan Ukraine caucus wrote a letter to Mr. Mulvaney early this month expressing “deep concerns” over the delay in releasing the funding. The funding is “vital to the long term viability of the Ukrainian military,” helping it “fend off the Kremlin’s continued onslaughts within its territory,” the senators wrote.
Pressure on the White House from Republican senators intensified. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio spoke to Mr. Trump about the funds, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina informed the White House that he planned to support an amendment by Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, that would block Pentagon spending to ensure that the Ukraine funds were released. On Sept 11, the administration told lawmakers it would release the funds.
Two days before, Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who leads the House Intelligence Committee had released a letter he had sent to the acting director of national intelligence revealing the existence of a whistle-blower case that might involve the president — touching of a series of disclosures in the press that brought the controversy over the Ukraine aid to a full crisis.
House Democrats on Monday moved to try to force Mr. Trump’s hand, even as they weighed voting on a resolution this week condemning his actions. At the same time, the chorus of lawmakers demanding impeachment grew louder, underscoring how the latest revelations about the president have touched off a seismic shift under Democrats’ feet.
Seven freshman House Democrats with military and national security experience — most of whom have been reluctant to call for impeachment — spoke out Monday night in a strongly worded opinion article in The Washington Post.
“If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense,” the lawmakers wrote.“If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense,” the lawmakers wrote.
The authors were Representatives Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Mr. Crow had previously called for an impeachment investigation, but others, including Ms. Slotkin, have been reluctant. The authors were Representatives Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
The chairmen of three House committees investigating the matter threatened to issue subpoenas in the coming days if the administration did not hand over a transcript of the call and documents related to the decision to withhold the aid money. A failure to do so — or to disclose to Congress a secretive whistle-blower complaint said to be related to the Ukraine matter — would be considered obstruction, they said, an indication that they could consider it grounds for impeachment.The chairmen of three House committees investigating the matter threatened to issue subpoenas in the coming days if the administration did not hand over a transcript of the call and documents related to the decision to withhold the aid money. A failure to do so — or to disclose to Congress a secretive whistle-blower complaint said to be related to the Ukraine matter — would be considered obstruction, they said, an indication that they could consider it grounds for impeachment.
“If press reports are accurate, such corrupt use of presidential power for the president’s personal political interest — and not for the national interest — is a betrayal of the president’s oath of office and cannot go unchecked,” the chairmen of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform Committees wrote on Monday in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.“If press reports are accurate, such corrupt use of presidential power for the president’s personal political interest — and not for the national interest — is a betrayal of the president’s oath of office and cannot go unchecked,” the chairmen of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform Committees wrote on Monday in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
They added, “By withholding these documents and refusing to engage with the committees, the Trump administration is obstructing Congress’s oversight duty under the Constitution to protect our nation’s democratic process.”They added, “By withholding these documents and refusing to engage with the committees, the Trump administration is obstructing Congress’s oversight duty under the Constitution to protect our nation’s democratic process.”
It appeared increasingly likely that the brewing conflict would come to a head on Thursday, when the House Intelligence Committee was already scheduled to question Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, who has withheld the whistle-blower complaint under advisement from the Justice Department and the White House. The panel has demanded that Mr. Maguire bring with him a copy of it. Now, lawmakers also want a decision by Mr. Pompeo — and by extension, Mr. Trump — by that day on whether he will furnish a transcript of the presidential conversation, as well as other materials they have requested. It appeared increasingly likely that the brewing conflict would come to a head on Thursday, when the House Intelligence Committee was already scheduled to question Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, who has withheld the whistle-blower complaint under advisement from the Justice Department and the White House. The panel has demanded that Mr. Maguire bring with him a copy of it.
Now, lawmakers also want a decision by Mr. Pompeo — and by extension, Mr. Trump — by that day on whether he will furnish a transcript of the presidential conversation, as well as other materials they have requested.
Mindful that Democrats may have only a brief window to decide their course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned the leaders of six House committees involved in investigations of the president to meet on Tuesday, telling the lawmakers to come without aides. Afterward, she planned to convene a special meeting of the Democratic caucus to discuss impeachment.Mindful that Democrats may have only a brief window to decide their course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned the leaders of six House committees involved in investigations of the president to meet on Tuesday, telling the lawmakers to come without aides. Afterward, she planned to convene a special meeting of the Democratic caucus to discuss impeachment.
Their decisions could have grave implications for Mr. Trump’s presidency.Their decisions could have grave implications for Mr. Trump’s presidency.
A growing number of House Democrats said on Monday that the new revelations all but demanded the move. They warned that a decision by the Trump administration not to hand over documents about a matter of urgent national security would leave the House with no choice but to initiate full-bore impeachment proceedings. At the same time, they said, any material that corroborated news reports about Mr. Trump’s actions could lead to the same outcome.A growing number of House Democrats said on Monday that the new revelations all but demanded the move. They warned that a decision by the Trump administration not to hand over documents about a matter of urgent national security would leave the House with no choice but to initiate full-bore impeachment proceedings. At the same time, they said, any material that corroborated news reports about Mr. Trump’s actions could lead to the same outcome.
“It is clear that the sitting president of the United States placed his own personal interests above the national security interests of the United States,” said Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, who flipped a Republican seat last fall. She called for impeachment proceedings to begin “immediately, fairly and impartially.”“It is clear that the sitting president of the United States placed his own personal interests above the national security interests of the United States,” said Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, who flipped a Republican seat last fall. She called for impeachment proceedings to begin “immediately, fairly and impartially.”
Ms. Craig’s announcement came alongside that of another Minnesota freshman, Dean Phillips, who warned, “If the reports are corroborated, we must pursue articles of impeachment and report them to the full House of Representatives for immediate consideration.”Ms. Craig’s announcement came alongside that of another Minnesota freshman, Dean Phillips, who warned, “If the reports are corroborated, we must pursue articles of impeachment and report them to the full House of Representatives for immediate consideration.”
Ms. Slotkin, a former C.I.A. officer who participated in briefings with Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and who advocated whistle-blower protections while working for Mr. Bush’s director of national intelligence, said the issue was “personal” for her.Ms. Slotkin, a former C.I.A. officer who participated in briefings with Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and who advocated whistle-blower protections while working for Mr. Bush’s director of national intelligence, said the issue was “personal” for her.
“As national security professionals, this was too much,” she said. “While we had always been judicious in thinking about impeachment before, this just crossed a line.”“As national security professionals, this was too much,” she said. “While we had always been judicious in thinking about impeachment before, this just crossed a line.”
Other, more veteran lawmakers, issued similar statements.Other, more veteran lawmakers, issued similar statements.
Veteran Democrats close to Ms. Pelosi, who has stubbornly resisted impeachment, joined the chorus as well. “An impeachment inquiry may be the only recourse Congress has if the president is enlisting foreign assistance in the 2020 election,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. “Congress must meet this pivotal moment in our nation’s history with decisive action.”Veteran Democrats close to Ms. Pelosi, who has stubbornly resisted impeachment, joined the chorus as well. “An impeachment inquiry may be the only recourse Congress has if the president is enlisting foreign assistance in the 2020 election,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. “Congress must meet this pivotal moment in our nation’s history with decisive action.”
There were also indications of more movement to come. Other moderate freshmen who have shied away from impeachment spent the day furiously calling one another in efforts to calibrate their responses. Several said privately that they were on the brink of supporting an impeachment process, but that they wanted to first see what transpired Thursday.There were also indications of more movement to come. Other moderate freshmen who have shied away from impeachment spent the day furiously calling one another in efforts to calibrate their responses. Several said privately that they were on the brink of supporting an impeachment process, but that they wanted to first see what transpired Thursday.
Privately, some Democrats and their aides were more cautious, fretting that the transcript of the July call would not be as damning as billed. They worried that the anticipation of its disclosure was replicating the dynamic that surrounded the release of the report by Robert S. Mueller III, the former special counsel who investigated Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, in which Democrats had expected a set of clear-cut revelations that would all but demand Mr. Trump’s impeachment, but ended up instead with a document that did not move public opinion against the president. They cautioned quietly that Democrats needed to see the evidence before getting too far down the impeachment path. Privately, some Democrats and their aides were more cautious, fretting that the transcript of the July call would not be as damning as billed. They worried that the anticipation of its disclosure was replicating the dynamic that surrounded the release of the report by Robert S. Mueller III, the former special counsel who investigated Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, in which Democrats had expected a set of clear-cut revelations that would all but demand Mr. Trump’s impeachment, but ended up instead with a document that did not move public opinion against the president.
Democrats got some backup in the Senate from Republicans, who have generally split over whether Mr. Trump is obliged to share either the transcript or the whistle-blower complaint with Congress.Democrats got some backup in the Senate from Republicans, who have generally split over whether Mr. Trump is obliged to share either the transcript or the whistle-blower complaint with Congress.
“I believe the most helpful report would be a transcript of the president’s conversation with President Zelensky,” Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, told reporters. “That, I think, would be the most instructive. But I certainly believe that the whistle-blower report should also be available to Congress.”“I believe the most helpful report would be a transcript of the president’s conversation with President Zelensky,” Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, told reporters. “That, I think, would be the most instructive. But I certainly believe that the whistle-blower report should also be available to Congress.”
Speaking on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, accused Democrats of trying to exploit a serious issue for political gain. He said he had confidence that the Senate’s intelligence panel, working quietly on a bipartisan basis, would handle it appropriately.Speaking on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, accused Democrats of trying to exploit a serious issue for political gain. He said he had confidence that the Senate’s intelligence panel, working quietly on a bipartisan basis, would handle it appropriately.
He called it “regrettable” that Representative Adam B. Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, “have chosen to politicize this issue, circumventing the established procedures and protocols that exist so the committees can pursue sensitive matters in the appropriate, deliberate, bipartisan manner.” Reporting was contributed by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Catie Edmondson, Emily Cochrane, Jonathan Martin, Peter Baker and Julian E. Barnes.
Questions about Ukraine came to dominate a day at the United Nations that was otherwise packed with meetings with foreign leaders and the president’s foreign policy abroad.
During a meeting with President Andrzej Duda of Poland, Mr. Trump suggested that his main complaint about the American aid to Ukraine — which he temporarily suspended this summer before releasing it last month amid bipartisan pressure from Congress — involved a lack of European assistance to the country. “Why isn’t Europe helping Ukraine more?” Mr. Trump said. “Why is it always the United States?”
The American aid package included about $250 million from the Defense Department and $141 million from the State Department.
In multiple comments to reporters, Mr. Trump sought to deflect attention from his actions and tarnish Mr. Biden, a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“What Biden did is a disgrace. What his son did is a disgrace,” Mr. Trump said. He later added, “If a Republican ever did what Joe Biden did, if a Republican ever said what Joe Biden said, they’d be getting the electric chair right now.”
The meetings were the first of more than a dozen sit-downs Mr. Trump had scheduled with world leaders here — including with Mr. Zelensky of Ukraine, whom he will see Wednesday.
Between events at the United Nations complex, Mr. Trump also tweeted an attack against his accusers as “stone cold Crooked.” And he implied that the unnamed intelligence community whistle-blower might be a traitor: “Is he on our Country’s side,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Where does he come from.”
Without offering proof, Mr. Trump also insisted that Hunter Biden, an international business consultant during his father’s time in office, “took money” from China, and suggested that the former vice president would strike a softer line toward Beijing as a result. China, Mr. Trump said, “can think of nothing they’d rather see than Biden get in.”
There is no evidence that the younger Mr. Biden’s business dealings have had any effect on his father’s public policy positions. Mr. Trump has seized on the elder Mr. Biden’s insistence in 2016 that Ukraine fire its top prosecutor at a time when a Ukrainian company on whose board Hunter Biden sat was suspected of criminal activity. But that prosecutor was widely seen as corrupt himself, and was not aggressively pursuing a case against the company, Burisma Holdings.
Reporting was contributed by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Catie Edmondson, Emily Cochrane and Jonathan Martin.