Trump’s anti-corruption defense blown away by State Department official in newly released testimony

President Donald Trump's contention that his efforts to get dirt on the family of former Vice President Joe Biden were part of an anti-corruption focus was undermined by testimony that was released by Congress on Monday.

The testimony was released by Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), the acting chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson, both advisors to Ambassador Kurt Volker on Ukraine policy, testified before the Committees about concerns they had with efforts to press Ukraine into announcing specific investigations which would help President Trump politically," the three chairpeople said in a joint statement. "Ms. Croft also testified that Ukrainian officials approached her quietly about the hold on security assistance in the July or August timeframe, before the hold had been made public.”

Here is the key passage that undermines Trump's anti-corruption defense.

"And I think you testified earlier that you drew a distinction between anti-corruption efforts and specific investigations?" Anderson was asked. "Is that right?"

"Correct," Anderson replied.

"And you felt like anti-corruption efforts, writ large, were part of official U.S. policy, correct?" Anderson was asked.

"It was our policy to push—we have specific deliverables on anti-corruption that we had developed. Individual investigations were not part of that policy that I was aware of," Anderson replied.

Anderson is a career Foreign Service officer who served as the Special Advisor for Ukraine Negotiations.