White House Review Finds Mick Mulvaney Sought to Justify Withholding Military Aid to Ukraine: Report

A confidential review of President Trump’s decision to withhold military assistance to Ukraine has turned up documents that show an effort to justify the decision after the fact, the Washington Post reports, citing three people familiar with the review. The White House Counsel’s Office research found emails from early August between acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House budget officials seeking to provide an explanation as to why the nearly $400 million in aid was withheld, the sources confirmed to the Post. Mulvaney asked acting Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought how much longer the aid could be legally delayed, as well as the OMB’s progress on developing a legal rationale for the hold, according to the Post. OMB attorneys argued it was legal as long as it was considered a “temporary” hold, the Post reports. One person familiar with the probe said White House lawyers are expressing concern that the review could, at minimum, embarrass the president. The Post reports that it is unclear if the records could post problems for the impeachment inquiry, which centers around Trump’s July efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, but some sources fear they could pose political problems if they are revealed publicly.