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Bloomberg
New documents show President Donald Trump asked about US military aid to Ukraine a month before the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that went on to trigger the impeachment investigation into Trump. The heavily-redacted documents, obtained under a Freedom of Information request by the Center for Public Integrity, also show that administration officials ordered a hold on the aid about an hour after the leaders’ call on July 25.
Trump asked about a June 19 article in the Washington Examiner newspaper referencing the aid. Michael Duffey, an official at the Office of Management and Budget, wrote to the Pentagon requesting more detail about the funding, according to an email from Duffey to the Pentagon comptroller.
“The President has asked about this funding release, and I have been tasked to follow-up with someone over there to get more detail.â€
An email from Duffey to Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist on July 25, shortly after the Trump-Zelenskiy phone call, expressed uneasiness about the hold.
“Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know,†Duffey wrote.
Duffey, an OMB official working on national security issues, is one of four witnesses Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested for the pending Senate trial of Trump on two articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representative this week.