LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

White House Budget Officials Prepared to Freeze Ukraine Aid the Night Before Trump Call, Email Shows

Newly released emails show officials shared a “Ukraine Prep Memo” the night before Trump’s notorious phone call to Volodymyr Zelensky.

White House budget officials prepared to freeze military aid to Ukraine the night before President Donald Trump’s notorious phone call with the Ukrainian president, newly released emails have shown. Shortly before midnight Tuesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget handed over nearly 200 pages of records related to Trump’s handling of Ukraine to the transparency group American Oversight. According to CNN, in one heavily redacted email from the night of July 24th, the day before Trump’s call, OMB officials shared a “Ukraine Prep Memo” with Michael Duffey, the budget official who would go on play a direct role in carrying out Trump’s funding freeze. “We will be standing by to answer any questions that you have and are happy to schedule time to discuss if you like,” OMB official Paul Denaro wrote to Duffey. The disclosure came as Senate Democrats condemned Senate Republicans at the start of the impeachment trial for blocking their subpoenas for documents related to the president’s impeachment and handling of Ukraine.