The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
EMAILS SHOW PUSH TO JUSTIFY AID HOLD
A confidential White House review of President Donald Trump’s decision to place a hold on military aid to Ukraine has turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to generate an after-the-fact justification for the decision and a debate over whether the delay was legal, according to three people familiar with the records.
The situation
The research by the White House Counsel’s Office, which was triggered by a congressional impeachment inquiry announced in September, includes early August email exchanges between acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House budget officials seeking to offer an explanation for withholding the funds after Trump had already ordered a hold in mid-July on nearly $400 million in security assistance, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
What did lawyers say?
One person briefed on the records examination said White House lawyers are expressing concern the review has turned up some unflattering exchanges and facts that could at a minimum embarrass Trump. It’s unclear if the Mulvaney discussions or other records pose legal problems for Trump in the impeachment inquiry, but some fear they may pose political problems if revealed publicly.
People familiar with the Office of Budget and Management’s handling of the holdup in aid acknowledged the internal discussions going on in August but called the conversations calm, routine and focused on the legal question of how to comply with the congressional Budget and Impoundment Act, which requires the executive branch to spend congressionally appropriated funds unless Congress agrees they can be rescinded.
Arguments over aid
In the early August email exchanges, Mulvaney asked acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought for an update on the legal rationale for withholding the aid and how much longer it could be delayed. Trump had made the decision the previous month without an assessment of the reasoning or legal justification, according to two White House officials. Emails show Vought and OMB staffers arguing that withholding aid was legal, while officials at the National Security Council and State Department protested. OMB lawyers said it was legal to withhold the aid, as long as they deemed it a “temporary” hold, according to people familiar with the review.
A senior budget lawyer crafted a memo on July 25 that defended the hold for at least a short period of time, an administration official said.