December 20, 2019
DOUBLING DOWN:
Trump administration demanded Democrats strip Ukraine aid language from spending package (Erica Werner, Dec. 20, 2019, Washington Post)
Senior Trump administration officials in recent days threatened a presidential veto that could have led to a government shutdown if House Democrats refused to drop language requiring prompt release of future military aid for Ukraine, according to five administration and congressional officials. [...]The White House this year refused to release congressionally appropriated defense aid to Kyiv during a period when President Trump had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former vice president and 2020 candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Trump's request of Zelensky as the White House delayed the aid was at the heart of House Democrats' decision to impeach Trump this week on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 20, 2019 6:20 PM