Pentagon Letter Undercuts Trump Assertion On Delaying Aid To Ukraine Over Corruption
Pentagon Letter Undercuts Trump Assertion On Delaying Aid To Ukraine Over Corruption
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/764453663/pentagon-letter-undercuts-trump-assertion-on-delaying-aid-to-ukraine-over-corrup
Earlier this week, President Trump cited concerns about corruption as his rationale for blocking security assistance to Ukraine. But in a letter sent to four congressional committees in May of this year and obtained by NPR, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood informs lawmakers that he has "certified that the Government of Ukraine has taken substantial actions to make defense institutional reforms for the purposes of decreasing corruption [and] increasing accountability."
The certification was required by law for the release of $250 million in security assistance for Ukraine. That aid was blocked by the White House until Sept. 11 and has since been released. It must be spent before Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
At a news conference wrapping up a three-day visit to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Trump repeated his professed concerns about corruption as the reason for holding up $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine.
"We want to make sure that country is honest," Trump said of Ukraine. "It's very important to talk about corruption. If you don't talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?"
Full letter
https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6430088-Pentagon-Letter-On-Ukraine-Aid