Newly unearthed Pentagon emails reveal officials feared 'serious risk' from Trump's hold on Ukraine aid

CNN has gotten a look at some newly unearthed emails from the Department of Defense that show significant anxiety among Pentagon officials about President Donald Trump's halting of military aid to Ukraine.

One email sent on September 9th last year by Greg Kausner, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security and Security Assistance, said that there was "serious risk" of violating the law if the aid to Ukraine was not released soon.

Defense Department official John Rood emailed Kausner back and said he'd been trying to no avail to get the hold on the aid withdrawn.

"I wish I had some better news," he told Kausner. "I have been vocal for weeks about the need to address this hold and meet Congressional intent."

The emails also show that Defense Department official Laura Cooper also pressed Rood about the legality of withholding the aid without notifying Congress of the president's decision.

"Cooper began pressing fellow Defense Department officials about the delay, telling Rood in an email, filled with bold and underlined font, that if the administration decided not to execute Ukraine funds, the President would need to transmit a special message to Congress to request withholding the funds, or the Defense Department would have to send reprogramming requests to four relevant Congressional committees," CNN reports.

Read more about the new emails here.