Impeachment Probe Eyes Mulvaney’s Office in Early Effort to Hold Up Ukraine Aid
When the Trump administration first decided to sell Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, officials at the Office of Management and Budget moved to temporarily pause the effort, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter.
The unusual move didn’t just foreshadow the huge fight that has the president now facing impeachment. It also caught the eye of Congressional investigators in the impeachment inquiry. This summer, OMB delayed the provision of a second shipment of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. An Intelligence Community whistleblower pointed to the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily hold up the weapons as a source of concern about alleged efforts to extort Ukraine. Democrats responded by opening an impeachment inquiry.
In 2017, with the enthusiastic support of Defense Sec. Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Trump administration moved to greenlight sending of over $40 million worth of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kyiv. But enthusiasm for the move wasn’t unanimous; in late 2017, as the interagency process moved forward, OMB temporarily gummed it up.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here