Mulvaney confirms aid used as pressure
Acting chief of staff defends move
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump withheld roughly $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year in part to push its new government to investigate Democrats, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Thursday, a stunning confirmation that hits directly at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
It marked the first time a senior White House official has directly linked the decision to delay the aid to Trump’s demand for Ukraine to investigate what, if any, role the country played in the 2016 U.S. investigation.
There has been no evidence that Ukraine interfered in the election, but Trump and his supporters suspect Ukraine is somehow linked to a Democratic National Committee server and the emails stolen by Russia that proved embarrassing to Hillary Clinton.
“Did he also mention to me in the past the corruption related to the DNC server?” Mulvaney said. “Absolutely. No question about that. But that’s it, and that’s why we held up the money … . The look back to what was happening in 2016 was part of that thing.”
But Mulvaney insisted in a defiant briefing that there was nothing wrong with Trump’s actions, saying politics is always part of foreign policy. “I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy. That is going to happen. Elections have consequences.”
In a July 25 phone call, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor”: to help investigate the Democrats’ 2016 server, as well as the business activities of his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Bidens.
Trump had previously acknowledged making the request during the phone call. But he had always insisted that the delay in the aid was a separate issue, triggered by his desire to push Ukraine to fight domestic corruption and because he wanted European nations to contribute more aid to Ukraine.
Mulvaney said those were also factors in Trump’s decision. But his statements are certain to give fuel to the impeachment inquiry by Democrats, who have characterized the phone call as a quid pro quo and abuse of presidential power.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called Mulvaney’s comments “a stunning admission.” But he quickly corrected himself, saying it is not surprising at all. “No, not stunning — an admission.”
Separately Thursday, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, said he disagreed with Trump’s decision to delegate crucial foreign policy on Ukraine to the president’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, according to his opening statement to congressional investigators, obtained as he appeared Thursday before the House impeachment inquiry.
Sondland, a hotelier and major donor to Trump and the Republican Party, said the president repeatedly directed him to coordinate with Giuliani, whom Sondland suggested may have had ulterior political motives, though he said he was not aware of them at the time.