Donald Trump (screengrab)
White House budget officials were preparing to freeze aid to Ukraine the night before President Donald Trump's infamous July 25 phone call to the country's new president, according to newly released emails.
The Office of Management and Budget handed over nearly 200 pages of records related to the president's actions toward Ukraine to the transparency group American Oversight, and one of the heavily redacted emails from July 24 shows OMB officials shared a “Ukraine Prep Memo” with Michael Duffey, reported CNN.
Duffey, a political appointee and the office's associate director of national security, played a direct role in carrying out Trump's funding freeze.
"We will be standing by to answer any questions that you have and are happy to schedule time to discuss if you like," wrote OMB official Paul Denaro to Duffey.
The emails were released as Senate Republicans were voting in the impeachment trial to block Democratic motions for subpoenas for additional documents related to the Ukraine scheme.
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