Emails show OMB officials thought something was strange about Ukraine aid freeze from the start

Less than two hours after President Trump had his infamous July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a White House budget official sent an email to the Pentagon, noting military aid to Ukraine was to be placed on hold, The Center for Public Integrity reports.

In the email, which Public Integrity obtained under court order, the official, Michael Duffey, seemed aware that the decision was a little odd. "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute the direction," he wrote.

Officials were worried about the hold from the start, Public Integrity reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

When the aid was finally released, Duffey reportedly sounded relieved, writing that he was "glad to leave this behind us." Meanwhile, another Office of Management and Budget official, Edna Falk Curtain, told a senior defense official "I still have no insight on the rationale for the hold."

Public Integrity also reports that, aside from being concerned about jeopardizing nationals security interests, officials worried they were being asked to undertake an action in defiance of a law ordering congressionally-approved funds to be spent within a defined period. Read more at The Center for Public of Integrity.