The White House’s Office of Management and Budget released a series of documents showcasing that the officials prepared to freeze $400 million in military aid to Ukraine a day prior to the scandalous July 25 phone call.
The documents were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, made by a watchdog group American Oversight.
On July 24, OMB officials shared a "Ukraine Prep Memo" with Michael Duffey, the office's associate director of national security programs, who would play an integral role in carrying out the freeze.
In his conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky a day later, Trump requested a dubious “favor”. The US President asked Zelensky to look into Ukraine’s gas company Burisma Holdings, which employed former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, and into the country’s alleged interference in 2016 elections.
Duffey officially froze Ukraine's military aid about 90 minutes after Trump's phone call with President Zelensky.
According to Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, "The public can now see even more evidence of the President's corrupt scheme as it unfolded in real-time.”
“The volume of material released, and the volume of material still secreted away only highlights how much the administration has withheld from the House, the Senate, and the American public," he said.
Donald Trump is currently undergoing an impeachment trial in the Senate.