Donald Trump’s chief of staff has confirmed that US military aid to
Ukraine was held back in part to help secure corruption investigations linked to the
Democrats, but denied
Joe Biden was a focus. In a rare briefing with the press, Mick Mulvaney said that Mr Trump had been concerned by claims that Ukraine somehow meddled in the 2016 US presidential election. In particular there was a concern that a computer server from the
Democratic National Committee, which was hacked during the 2016 campaign, was in Ukraine. The Trump administration’s decision to withhold almost $400 million of military assistance to Ukraine while it sought investigations linked to America is the heart of the impeachment inquiry. The admission appeared to soften the White House’s previous denials that there was no “quid pro quo” involved, in other words no military aid money for investigations. “Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy,” Mr Mulvaney said at one point, adding: “That is going to happen. Elections have consequences.”
Donald Trump listening during a press conference with the Italian president Credit: Olivier Douliery / AFP While Mr Mulvaney admitted investigations into the 2016
election were linked to the pausing of aid, he disputed that a probe into Mr Biden, the Democrat who could face Mr Trump at the 2020 election, was involved. Mr Mulvaney said that he had never been involved in any attempt to get Ukraine to investigate Mr Biden, the former US president seeking the 2020 presidential nomination, or his son Hunter Biden. In a separate but linked development on Thursday Gordon Sondland, Mr Trump’s EU ambassador who helped shape Ukraine policy during the period under scrutiny, gave testimony to the impeachment inquiry. Mr Sondland said in his opening statement that Mr Trump personally directed US officials to work with
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, on Ukraine. Mr Giuliani has been publicly pushing claims that Mr Biden intervened while US vice president to benefit his son Hunter, who worked at a Ukranian gas company. The Bidens have always denied wrongdoing. Gordon Sondland arrives to testify before
Congress Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Mr Sondland also made clear that he opposed holding back military assistance to Ukraine, one of the most controversial parts of the scandal, saying that the aid “should not have been delayed for any reason". The remarks back up key elements of the complaint from an intelligence whistleblower which kick-started the impeachment inquiry, appearing to confirm that Mr Giuliani did indeed play a significant role in shaping Ukraine policy. Mr Sondland, who donated $1 million to Mr Trump’s inaugural committee and later was handed the ambassadorship, had been expected to provide testimony which would be helpful to the president. Instead, having defied
White House calls not to appear, he made a series of claims unhelpful to Mr Trump's attempts to wave away the row while distancing himself from key elements of the scandal. The role of Mr Giuliani, a former
New York mayor, is at the heart of the controversy. He has been a leading promoter of claims that the Bidens acted inappropriately in Ukraine – something they have always denied. Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden at a
basketball match in 2010 Credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass Mr Sondland recalled a meeting with Mr Trump in May where US officials urged him to call and congratulate the new Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, but the president demurred. “President Trump was skeptical that Ukraine was serious about reforms and anti-corruption, and he directed those of us present at the meeting to talk to Mr Giuliani, his personal attorney, about his concerns,” Mr Sondland wrote in his opening testimony. “It was apparent to all of us that the key to changing the president’s mind on Ukraine was Mr Giuliani.” However elsewhere during his testimony Mr Sondland said he could not recall any discussions about holding back US aid to Ukraine in return for help with Mr Trump’s reelection campaign. He also recalled a telephone call with Mr Trump on September 9 when the president repeatedly said there was no “quid pro quo” between handing over the military aid to Ukraine and them launching investigations. Mr Sondland denied ever knowingly pushing for a Ukrainian investigation into the Bidens.