President Trump has claimed that he only blocked military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure that country to crack down on corruption.
But his administration has repeatedly tried to slash billions from anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and around the world.
The Trump administration has tried to frame the president’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election as an anti-corruption effort.
Trump similarly defended his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by insisting he was only concerned about corruption in the country.
If you don't talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?"
If stamping out corruption in Ukraine was an administration priority, the administration’s budget office did not get the memo.
Trump’s annual budget requests to Congress have repeatedly sought steep cuts to anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and other countries. »