NYT reporting tonight that sources close to the WH have said Trump knew of the WB complaint before he finally gave Ukraine the $ & at the time that he told Sondland there was NO QpQ. #TuesdayThoughts
nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/…
2-"Trump had already been briefed on a whistle-blower’s complaint about his dealings with Ukraine when he unfroze military aid for the country in September, according to two people familiar with the matter.
3-"Lawyers from the White House counsel’s office told Mr. Trump in late August about the complaint, explaining that they were trying to determine whether they were legally required to give it to Congress, the people said.
4-"The revelation could shed light on Mr. Trump’s thinking at two critical points under scrutiny by impeachment investigators: his decision in early September to release $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine and his denial to a key ambassador around the same time that
5-"there was a “quid pro quo” with Kyiv. Mr. Trump used the phrase before it had entered the public lexicon in the Ukraine affair. [WB complaint] first came to light as the subject of an administration tug of war. In late August, the inspector general for the intelligence
6-"community, Michael Atkinson, concluded that the administration needed to send it to Congress..the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and his deputy John A. Eisenberg disagreed. They decided that the administration could withhold from Congress the whistle-blower’s
7-"accusations because they were protected by executive privilege. The lawyers told Mr. Trump they planned to ask the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to determine whether they had to disclose the complaint to lawmakers.
8-"A week later, the Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the administration did not have to hand over the complaint..There are discrepancies about whether Mr. Sondland spoke to the president on Sept. 7 or 9. The administration lifted the freeze on aid to Ukraine on Sept. 11,"
