{"id":33335,"date":"2019-09-09T17:41:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T17:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/09\/house-democrats-probe-trump-slow-rolled-ukraine-military-aid-in-larger-effort-to-target-biden\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:46:24","slug":"house-democrats-probe-trump-slow-rolled-ukraine-military-aid-in-larger-effort-to-target-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/09\/house-democrats-probe-trump-slow-rolled-ukraine-military-aid-in-larger-effort-to-target-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"House Democrats probe if Trump slow-rolled Ukraine military aid in larger effort to target Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 House Democrats will investigate whether President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to delay security assistance to Ukraine<\/a> was part of a pressure campaign to benefit him in the 2020 presidential election, potentially violating a host of legal and ethical rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three House committees \u2015 Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight and Government Reform \u2015 sent letters to the White House and State Department on Monday seeking documents about whether Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tried to get Ukraine to target a 2020 presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden. The three panels announced the requests as part of a broad probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s decision to withhold vital security assistance to Ukraine is only the latest in a series of actions in which President Trump appears to undermine U.S. foreign policy to placate Russia and place his personal interests above the national interest,\u201d the Democratic chairmen of the committees said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters came after The Washington Post\u2019s editorial board wrote<\/a> that it was \u201creliably told\u201d the Trump administration suspended $250 million in U.S. military aid to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to relaunch a corruption probe into Biden and his son. Reportedly, a prosecutor previously investigated Biden\u2019s son, who had worked for a Ukrainian energy firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee chairmen allege Trump focused on the investigation in a July 25 call with Zelensky, saying Ukraine\u2019s corruption had inhibited its dealings with the United States. From there, Ambassador Kurt Volker, U.S. special representative for Ukraine, arranged a meeting between Zelensky and Giuliani. (The State Department reportedly called Giuliani \u201ca private citizen\u201d who \u201cdoes not speak on behalf of the U.S. Government.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\t