events occurred within the same period. President Zelensky implemented serious anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine and OMB conducted a review of foreign assistance globally and provided data on what other countries contribute to Ukraine. Bipartisan senators contacted the White House, telling the Administration that the Senate would act legislatively to undo the pause on security assistance.[1] In fact, Senator Dick Durbin credited the release of the security assistance to the Senate's potential action.[2] Senator Durbin said, "It's beyond a coincidence that they released it the night before our vote in the committee."[3] *** The evidence does not support the Democrats' allegation that President Trump sought to withhold U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to pressure President Zelensky to investigate his political rival for the President's political benefit. The Democrats' witnesses denied the two were linked. The U.S. officials never informed the Ukrainian government that the security assistance was delayed, and senior Ukrainian officials did not raise concerns to U.S. officials until after the delay was publicly reported. President Trump never raised the security assistance during his phone call with President Zelensky. President Zelensky never voiced concerns about pressure or conditionality on security assistance in any meetings he had with senior U.S. government officials. U.S. security assistance ultimately flowed to Ukraine without the Ukrainian government taking any action to investigate President Trump's political rival.
D. The evidence does not establish that President Trump set up a shadow foreign policy apparatus to pressure Ukraine to investigate the President's political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 election.
Democrats allege that President Trump established an unauthorized, so-called "shadow" foreign policy apparatus to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival to benefit the President in the 2020 election.[4] Democrats also alleged that President Trump's recall of Ambassador Yovanovitch was a "politically motivated" decision to appease "allies of President Trump."[5] Although the Constitution gives the President broad authority to conduct the foreign policy of the United States, the Democrats say that President Trump abused his power by disregarding the traditional State Department bureaucratic channels for his personal political benefit. These allegations fall flat.
It is impossible to fairly assess the facts without appreciating the circumstances in which they occurred. From the very first days of the Trump Administration—indeed even before it began—the unelected bureaucracy rejected President Trump and his policies. The self-proclaimed "resistance" organized protests and parody social media accounts, while high-level
- ↑ See Byron York, Why did Trump release Ukraine aid? The answer is simple, Wash. Exam., Nov. 24, 2019.
- ↑ Caitlin Emma et al., Trump administration backs off hold on Ukraine military aid, Politico, Sept. 12, 2019.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Press Release, H. Comm. On Foreign Affairs, Engel Floor Remarks on Resolution for Open Hearings on Trump's Abuse of Power (Oct. 31, 2019); Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) (Nov. 6, 2019, 10:58 AM), https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1192154367199260672.
- ↑ Press Release, H. Comm. on Foreign Affairs, Engel & Hoyer Statement on U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Masha Yovanovitch (May 7, 2019).
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