White House official who was on President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Congress there was “no doubt” that Trump had invoked a quid pro quo, according to transcripts released Friday as part of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council (NSC) who was on the July 25 phone call, told House lawmakers the message from Trump was clear.
“The demand was, in order to get the White House meeting, they had to deliver an investigation,” Vindman testified.
That assessment was backed by Fiona Hill, formerly Trump’s top Russia analyst at the NSC, who told lawmakers it was widely understood that investigating Burisma — the Ukrainian energy giant that had employed former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden — was code for investigating the Bidens.
