Democrats demand witnesses as emails show White House froze Ukraine aid shortly after Trump call

Democrats renewed their calls for the Senate to call new witnesses at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial after emails obtained by the Center for Public Integrity showed that the White House directed a freeze on military aid to Ukraine about 90 minutes after Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Emails obtained by the government watchdog group through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Mike Duffey, an official at the Office of Management and Budget, directed the Defense Department to “hold off” on military aid to Ukraine at 11:04 a.m., less than two hours after Trump’s conversation with Zelensky on July 25. “This email from Michael Duffey — approximately 90 minutes after President Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine — is all the more reason why we need Duffey and others to testify in a Senate trial,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Twitter. “And second, from whom did Duffey get the order and why did he do it?” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a presidential contender who sits on the Judiciary Committee, agreed that the emails show the need for the Senate to hear from Duffey, acting White House chief of staff and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, and former national security adviser John Bolton.