Pentagon official says Ukrainians asked about military aid on July 25 David Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs at the State Department, testified that he was told the directive to place the hold on the aid came directly from the president. https://apple.news/AICwUoXkWQbGxy-oogZrRfg One prominent impeachment defense has been that there could have been no QPQ because the Ukrainians didn’t even know that aid was withheld. Turns out, unsurprisingly, they did know. They did know during trumps phone call with Zelenskiy when trump said how he needed a favor. I am curious to know whether trump is The sort of person who would think of ways to get what he wanted in a negotiation.... like for instance withholding some payment until he got a “favor”.... is that the sort of thing a hard nosed negotiator would do? So, once again, it seems to me that the only remains quibble is whether we consider what was obviously done to be a serious matter
And more David Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs at the State Department, testified that he was told the directive to place the hold on the aid came directly from the president.
