Newly leaked emails from the Pentagon add to the pile of evidence showing that President Donald Trump himself ordered a freeze on U.S. money destined to Ukraine, which officials have testified was part of an effort to pressure Ukraine to do Trump’s political bidding.
The emails, which were leaked to Just Security, show communications between the Pentagon and the White House Office Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
For example, after a key meeting between the Defense Secretary and Trump on Aug. 30, two days after the aid freeze had become public, OMB political staffer Mike Duffey emailed the Pentagon.
The brief, explosive sentence was one of several emails detailing the President’s orders.
The first indication of Trump’s interest came in June, when Duffey asked the Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Elaine McCusker, about the $250 million military aid package the Pentagon had green lit for Ukraine.
McCusker kept emailing the White House, telling them that millions in Ukraine aid would not be able to be spent in time.
Two days later, with the world watching, Congress investigating, and Ukraine still engaged in a years-long war with Russia, Trump allowed the money to be released. »