Tag: Laura Cooper

Pentagon official testifies Ukraine inquired about military aid on July 25

Axios logoDefense Department official Laura Cooper testified in an impeachment hearing Wednesday that members of her staff recently brought her two unclassified State Department emails revealing that the Ukrainian Embassy had asked about U.S. military aid — which had by then been suspended — on July 25.

Why it matters: July 25 is the same day of President Trump’s infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though the emails from the State Department came after the morning call. Cooper’s testimony suggests the Ukrainians knew there was “some kind of issue” with the security assistance by July, and that they were aware the aid had been suspended by August.

  • The surprise revelation could potentially undermine a key Republican defense that Zelensky could not have felt pressure from Trump to carry out investigations into his political rivals because the Ukrainian president was not aware of the frozen aid.

View the November 21 article on the Axios website here.

Impeachment news roundup: Nov. 20

Testimony from Laura Cooper contradicts Republican argument that Ukraine did not know about the hold on security aid

Deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia and Ukraine Laura Cooper told the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday evening that Ukrainian Embassy staff in August were aware of the White House’s hold on military assistance to Kyiv.

Cooper’s testimony ran counter to a key Republican argument about the July phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Donald Trump — that Ukraine did not know about the hold on security aid.

She told lawmakers that her staff received an inquiry from the Ukranian Embassy asking about the status of the funds on the afternoon of July 25. On a phone call earlier that morning, Trump had asked Zelenskiy to pursue investigations into Burisma and, in turn, the Bidens.

View the complete November 20 article on The Roll Call website here.