And I think that continues to this day. I think they're being very careful. They still need us now going forward. In fact, right now, President Zelensky is trying to arrange a summit meeting with President Putin in the coming weeks, his first face to face meeting with him to try to advance the peace process. He needs our support. He needs President Putin to understand that America supports Zelensky at the highest levels. So this doesn't end with the lifting of the security assistance hold. Ukraine still needs us, and as I said, still fighting this war this very day.1034
Vice President Pence Spoke to President Zelensky
On September 18, approximately one week before President Trump was scheduled to meet with President Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Vice President Pence spoke with President Zelensky by telephone.1035 According to Ms. Williams, during the call, Vice President Pence "reiterat[ed] the release of the funds" and "ask[ed] a bit more about ... how Zelensky's efforts were going."1036
On November 26, Ms. Williams submitted a classified addendum to her hearing testimony on November 19 related to this telephone call. According to Ms. Williams' counsel, the Office of the Vice President informed Ms. Williams' counsel that certain portions of the September 18 call, including the additional information in Ms. Williams' addendum, are classified. The Committee has requested that the Office of the Vice President conduct a declassification review so that the Committee may share this additional information regarding the substance of the September 18 call publicly. On October 9, Vice President Pence told reporters, "I'd have no objection" to the White House releasing the transcript of his calls with President Zelensky and said that "we're discussing that with White House counsel as we speak."1037 In a November 7 interview with Fox Business, Vice President Pence reiterated, "I have no objection at all" to releasing records of his calls.1038
President Trump and Rudy Giuliani, Undeterred, Continued to Solicit Foreign Interference in Our Elections
On September 19, Rudy Giuliani was interviewed by Chris Cuomo on CNN. During the interview, Mr. Giuliani confirmed that he had urged Ukraine to investigate "the allegations that there was interference in the election of 2016, by the Ukrainians, for the benefit of Hillary Clinton[.]" When asked specifically if he had asked Ukraine to look into Vice President Biden, Mr. Giuliani replied immediately, "of course I did."
Seconds later, Mr. Giuliani attempted to clarify his admission, insisting that he had not asked Ukraine to investigate Vice President Biden but instead "to look into the allegations that related to my client [President Trump], which tangentially involved Joe Biden in a massive bribery scheme." Mr. Giuliani insisted that his conduct was appropriate, telling Mr. Cuomo later in the interview that "it is perfectly appropriate for a President to say to a leader of a foreign country, investigate this massive bribe ... that was paid by a former Vice President."1039
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