Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released a slew of documents Thursday night that were either obtained during or related to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) assessment that the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld congressionally approved aid from Ukraine last summer.
In December, Van Hollen wrote to the GAO requesting that it review the freezing of the aid.
The independent government watchdog released its report last week and concluded that by withholding the aid from Ukraine, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was in violation of the Impoundment Control Act (ICA).
“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the report reads. “OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. … Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA.”
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Van Hollen noted in a statement released along with the documents Thursday that on Dec. 11, the OMB submitted an “incomplete response” to the GAO during the watchdog’s review of the matter, and that the White House “refused to respond altogether and blocked DOD from providing an independent response as well.”
One of the documents that was released is a letter that the White House wrote in response to GAO’s request for documents pertaining to the aid freeze.
“The White House does not plan to respond separately to your letters,” Brian Miller, a senior associate counsel to Trump, wrote. Miller said that the Dec. 11 letter that OMB sent to GAO already answered the watchdog’s questions.
“This is likely why the GAO accused the Administration of stonewalling their investigation,” Van Hollen said in his statement. This is another example of the Administration’s continued attempts to cover up their wrongdoing and unlawful actions.”
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Dem senator releases documents relevant to watchdog ruling that the Trump admin broke the law on Ukraine aid https://t.co/5Uuf64t347 pic.twitter.com/Njz5mmJKj0
— The Hill (@thehill) January 24, 2020
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