The Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report
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THE TRUMP-UKRAINE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY REPORT Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pursuant to H. Res. 660 in Consultation with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs December 2019 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Rep. Adam B. Schiff (CA), Chairman Rep. Jim Himes (CT) Rep. Devin Nunes (CA), Ranking Member Rep. Terri Sewell (AL) Rep. Mike Conaway (TX) Rep. André Carson (IN) Rep. Michael Turner (OH) Rep. Jackie Speier (CA) Rep. Brad Wenstrup (OH) Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) Rep. Chris Stewart (UT) Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA) Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY) Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX) Rep. Will Hurd (TX) Rep. Denny Heck (WA) Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX) Rep. Peter Welch (VT) Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY) Rep. Val Demings (FL) Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL) Majority Staff Timothy S. Bergreen, Staff Director Daniel S. Goldman, Director of Investigations Maher Bitar, General Counsel Rheanne Wirkkala, Deputy Director of Investigations Patrick M. Boland, Communications Director Impeachment Inquiry Investigative Staff William M. Evans Daniel S. Noble Patrick Fallon Diana Y. Pilipenko Sean A. Misko Ariana N. Rowberry Nicolas A. Mitchell Carly A. Blake, Deputy Staff Director William Wu, Budget and Policy Director Wells C. Bennett, Deputy General Counsel Oversight Staff Linda D. Cohen Lucian D. Sikorskyj Thomas Eager Conrad Stosz Abigail C. Grace Kathy L. Suber Kelsey M. Lax Aaron A. Thurman Amanda A. Rogers Thorpe Raffaela L. Wakeman Non-Partisan Security and Information Technology Staff Kristin Jepson Kimberlee Kerr Claudio Grajeda 2 House Committee on Oversight and Reform Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY), Chairwoman Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (MD), Chairman Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) Rep. Jim Jordan (OH), Ranking Member Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (MO) Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ) Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA) Rep. Thomas Massie (KY) Rep. Jim Cooper (TN) Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC) Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (VA) Rep. Mark Meadows (NC) Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL) Rep. Jody Hice (GA) Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD) Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI) Rep. Harley Rouda (CA) Rep. James Comer (KY) Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) Rep. Michael Cloud (TX) Rep. John Sarbanes (MD) Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH) Rep. Peter Welch (VT) Rep. Clay Higgins (LA) Rep. Jackie Speier (CA) Rep. Ralph Norman (SC) Rep. Robin Kelly (IL) Rep. Chip Roy (TX) Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA) Rep. Carol Miller (WV) Rep. Brenda Lawrence (IL) Rep. Mark Green (TN) Rep. Stacey Plaskett (VI) Rep. Kelly Armstrong (ND) Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) Rep. Greg Steube (FL) Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA) Rep. Fred Keller (PA) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI) Majority Staff Dave Rapallo, Staff Director Susanne Sachsman Grooms, Deputy Staff Director & Chief Counsel Peter Kenny, Chief Investigative Counsel Krista A. Boyd, General Counsel Janet H. Kim, Chief Counsel for Investigations Russell Anello, Chief Oversight Counsel Aryele Bradford, Communications Director Investigative Staff S. Tori Anderson Gina Kim Aaron D. Blacksberg Jason Powell Chioma Chukwu Dan Rebnord Cassie Fields Ricardo Brandon Rios Greta Gao Erinn L. Sauer, Detailee Michael Gordon Amish A. Shah Jessica L. Heller Laura Waters 3 Operations and Press Team Zachary Barger, Intern Kellie Larkin Jamitress Bowden Olivia Letts, Intern Kristen Charley, Intern Anna Rose Marx, Intern Kenyatta Collins Courtney Miller James Darlson, Intern Noah Steimel, Intern Emma Dulaney Travis Stoller, Intern Evan Elizabeth Freeman, Intern Amy Stratton Christophe Godshall, Intern Laura Trevisani, Intern Brandon Jacobs Joshua Zucker Elisa LaNier 4 House Committee on Foreign Affairs Rep. Eliot L. Engel (NY), Chairman Rep. Brad Sherman (CA) Rep. Michael McCaul (TX) Ranking Member Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY) Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ) Rep. Albio Sires (NJ) Rep. Steve Chabot (OH) Rep. Gerald Connolly (VA) Rep. Joe Wilson (SC) Rep. Theodore Deutch (FL) Rep. Scott Perry (PA) Rep. Karen Bass (CA) Rep. Ted Yoho (FL) Rep. William Keating (MA) Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL) Rep. David Cicilline (RI) Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY) Rep. Ami Bera (CA) Rep. James Sensenbrenner (WI) Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX) Rep. Ann Wagner (MO) Rep. Dina Titus (NV) Rep. Brian Mast (FL) Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY) Rep. Francis Rooney (FL) Rep. Ted Lieu (CA) Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) Rep. Susan Wild (PA) Rep. John Curtis (UT) Rep. Dean Phillips (MN) Rep. Ken Buck (CO) Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) Rep. Ron Wright (TX) Rep. Colin Allred (TX) Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA) Rep. Andy Levin (MI) Rep. Tim Burchett (TN) Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA) Rep. Greg Pence (IN) Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA) Rep. Steve Watkins (KS) Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ) Rep. Michael Guest (MS) Rep. David Trone (MD) Rep. Jim Costa (CA) Rep. Juan Vargas (CA) Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (CA) Majority Staff Jason Steinbaum, Staff Director Doug Campbell, Deputy Staff Director Laura Carey, Senior Professional Staff Member, State Department Oversight Tim Mulvey, Communications Director Jacqueline Ramos, Senior Professional Staff Member, Europe and Russia Operations and Press Staff Evan Bursey Rachel Levitan Jacqueline Colvett 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .......................................................................................................................................7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................12 KEY FINDINGS OF FACT ........................................................................................................34 SECTION I. THE PRESIDENT’S MISCONDUCT ...............................................................37 1. The President Forced Out the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine ...........................................38 2. The President Put Giuliani and the Three Amigos in Charge of Ukraine Issues ............51 3. The President Froze Military Assistance to Ukraine .......................................................67 4. The President’s Meeting with the Ukrainian President Was Conditioned on An Announcement of Investigations .....................................................................................83 5. The President Asked the Ukrainian President to Interfere in the 2020 U.S. Election by Investigating the Bidens and 2016 Election Interference ................................................98 6. The President Wanted Ukraine to Announce the Investigations Publicly ....................114 7. The President’s Conditioning of Military Assistance and a White House Meeting on Announcement of Investigations Raised Alarm ............................................................126 8. The President’s Scheme Was Exposed ..........................................................................140 SECTION II. THE PRESIDENT’S OBSTRUCTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES’ IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY ..........................................................202 1. Constitutional Authority for Congressional Oversight and Impeachment ....................203 2. The President’s Categorical Refusal to Comply ...........................................................208 3. The President’s Refusal to Produce Any and All Subpoenaed Documents ..................217 4. The President’s Refusal to Allow Top Aides to Testify ................................................231 5. The President’s Unsuccessful Attempts to Block Key Witnesses .................................245 6. The President’s Intimidation of Witnesses ....................................................................257 APPENDIX A: KEY PEOPLE AND ENTITIES ..................................................................293 APPENDIX B: ABBREVIATIONS AND COMMON TERMS ...........................................299 6 PREFACE This report reflects the evidence gathered thus far by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in coordination with the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States. The report is the culmination of an investigation that began in September 2019 and intensified over the past three months as new revelations and evidence of the President’s misconduct towards Ukraine emerged. The Committees pursued the truth vigorously, but fairly, ensuring the full participation of both parties throughout the probe. Sustained by the tireless work of more than three dozen dedicated staff across the three Committees, we issued dozens of subpoenas for documents and testimony and took more than 100 hours of deposition testimony from 17 witnesses. To provide the American people the opportunity to learn and evaluate the facts themselves, the Intelligence Committee held seven public hearings with 12 witnesses—including three requested by the Republican Minority—that totaled more than 30 hours. At the outset, I want to recognize my late friend and colleague Elijah E. Cummings, whose grace and commitment to justice served as our North Star throughout this investigation. I would also like to thank my colleagues Eliot L. Engel and Carolyn B. Maloney, chairs respectively of the Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees, as well as the Members of those Committees, many of whom provided invaluable contributions. Members of the Intelligence Committee, as well, worked selflessly and collaboratively throughout this investigation. Finally, I am grateful to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the trust she placed in our Committees to conduct this work and for her wise