Trump Knew Of Whistleblower Complaint Before Releasing Ukraine Aid: Report

Did President Trump release the millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine after he came to know of the whistleblower complaint? The aid was released in September and the New York Times reported Tuesday that the President knew about the whistleblower’s complaint about his dealings with the country back in August.

The paper claimed that in late August lawyers from the White House Counsel’s Office briefed Trump about the complaint that has sparked a national scandal, and the first Presidential impeachment crisis in over 30 years. The briefing would have come a few weeks after the now-infamous July 25 phone call Trump had with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that initially led to the complaint. The report cited two people familiar with the matteer.

What Did The President Know And When Did He Know It?

This new wrinkle in the timeline could provide further illumination into Trump’s thinking when he finally released the $391 million aid. The Democrats have charged that Trump had linked release of th aid to the Ukraine government invesigating corruption claims against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Joe Biden is still leading the pack of Democratic presidential hopefuls ahead of the primaries.

White House lawyers who briefed Trump on the complaint, which later sparked the impeachment inquiry, told him that they were trying to determine whether they were required to give it to Congress, the paper reported. Trump’s early knowledge of the whistleblower complaint, if confirmed, could raise questions about his motivation to release the aid after holding it back.

The White House declined to comment to the NYT and other media organizations that reached out to it about the new information.

Where Do We Go from Here?

The revelations come at a critical juncture of the impeachment investigations. A CNN poll released Tuesday showed that half of Americans still say Trump should be impeached and removed from office while 43% say he should not. These figures have not changed in the past month.

The Senate is expected to begin its portion of the investigation and hearings on Dec. 4.