Pence's national security adviser says he had 'no concerns' about Ukraine call hours after top aide testified she found it 'unusual'

Keith Kellogg.
(Image credit: Susan Walsh/AP)

On a day where several people testified before Congress that President Trump's phone call in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left them feeling uneasy, the president did receive at least one message of resounding support.

Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who serves as Vice President Mike Pence's national security adviser, released a statement Tuesday saying that the call — which he was listening in on — was perfectly acceptable. "I heard nothing wrong or improper on the call," he said. "I had and have no concerns."

Kellogg's statement comes just a few hours after Jennifer Williams, a top foreign policy aide for Pence who reports to Kellogg, testified before Congress that she found the call "unusual because, in contrast to other presidential calls I had observed, it involved discussion of what appeared to be a domestic political matter."

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The statement is seemingly a response to Williams' hearing, as Kellogg notes that Williams also testified that "she never reported any personal or professional concerns to me" about the call.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.