a draft email that was being prepared as part of the nightly update for the National Security Advisor.316 She agreed that the hold came “out of the blue” because it had not been discussed previously by OMB or the NSC.317
On or about July 12, 2019, President Trump directed that a hold be placed on security assistance funding for Ukraine. That day, Robert Blair, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff, sent an email to Mr. Duffey at OMB about Ukraine security assistance.318 Mr. Sandy, who was on personal leave at the time but later received a copy of the email from Mr. Duffey, testified that in the July 12 email, Mr. Blair communicated “that the President is directing a hold on military support funding for Ukraine.”319 The email mentioned no concerns about any other country, security assistance package, or aid of any sort.320
On or about July 15, Mr. Morrison learned from Deputy National Security Advisor Charles Kupperman “that it was the President’s direction to hold the assistance.”321 On or about July 17 or 18, 2019, Mr. Duffey and Mr. Blair again exchanged emails about Ukraine security assistance.322 Mr. Sandy later received a copy of the emails, which showed that when Mr. Duffey asked Mr. Blair about the reason for the hold, Mr. Blair provided no explanation and instead said, “we need to let the hold take place” and then “revisit” the issue with the President.323
On July 18 or 19, when he returned from two weeks of personal leave, Mr. Sandy learned for the first time that the President had placed a hold on Ukraine security assistance from Mr. Duffey.324 According to Mr. Sandy, Mr. Duffey was not aware of the reason but “there was certainly a desire to learn more about the rationale” for the hold.325
Agency Experts Repeatedly Objected to the Hold on Security Assistance
Between July 18 and July 31, 2019, the NSC staff convened a series of interagency meetings, at which the hold on security assistance was discussed in varying degrees of detail. Over the course of these meetings, it became evident that:
- the President directed the hold through OMB;
- no justification was provided for the hold;
- with the exception of OMB, all represented agencies supported Ukraine security assistance because it was in the national security interests of the United States; and
- there were concerns about the legality of the hold.
The first interagency meeting was held on July 18 at the Deputy Assistant Secretary level (i.e., a “sub-Policy Coordination Committee”). It was supposed to be a “routine Ukraine policy meeting.”326 Ambassador Taylor, Lt. Col. Vindman, Ms. Croft, and Mr. Kent were among the attendees. Witnesses testified that OMB announced at the meeting that President Trump had directed a hold on Ukraine security assistance. Mr. Kent testified that at the meeting, an OMB staff person announced that Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney “at the direction
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