The transcript released today of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent’s testimony debunks two false Republican talking points: (1) that Trump did not order security assistance to be withheld and (2) that he did not call on Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into his political rivals.
TRUMP DIRECTED SONDLAND TO PRESSURE UKRAINE: Kent confirmed that Ambassador Sondland was told by Trump to get Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into Trump’s political opponent.
TRUMP DIRECTED THE SECURITY ASSISTANCE TO BE WITHHELD FROM UKRAINE: Kent testified that congressionally-appropriated security assistance money to Ukraine was put on hold “at the direction of the president.”
POMPEO LIKELY LIED: Kent testified that Pompeo’s letter to the Committees inaccurately characterized interactions between the Committee and foreign service officers.
UKRAINE WAS PRESSURED TO COOPERATE EARLY ON: Volker met privately with Ukraine’s president in July, before security assistance was withheld, to underscore the importance of the messaging Ukraine needed to provide to Trump about its willingness to cooperate.
KENT BELIEVED PRESSURE FROM WHITE HOUSE WAS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED: Kent was so concerned that the White House was pursuing “politically motivated prosecutions” that he memorialized his conversations in contemporaneous notes.
