WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before a phone call in which he pressured the Eastern European nation's leader to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden, a revelation that comes as more Democrats move toward impeachment proceedings.
Trump's order was first reported by The Washington Post and was confirmed to The Associated Press by two people familiar with but not authorized to discuss private conversations. They spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Late Monday, an influential group of first-term Democrats who served in the military and national security before winning office said Trump's actions cut to the core of the country's defenses. Their views, as centrist lawmakers from previously Republican-held districts where Trump has been popular, hold sway with party leadership.
At issue is a summer phone call with Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskiy, in which Trump is said to have pushed for investigations of Biden. In the days before that call, Trump ordered the aid to Ukraine frozen.
Trump insists he did nothing wrong and denies that any requests for help in procuring damaging information about Biden were tied to the aid freeze.
Democrats, and some Republicans, urged the White House to be open about his actions, which are at the center of a whistleblower complaint. But with no new information from the administration forthcoming, more than a dozen Democrats, including some in House leadership, added their names to those calling for impeachment proceedings.
The sudden rush of activity shows the extent to which Trump's call to the foreign leader, and his subsequent comments about the conversation, are raising questions about whether the president improperly used his office to pressure another country as a way of helping his own reelection prospects.
"These allegations are stunning, both in the national security threat they pose and the potential corruption they represent," wrote the seven lawmakers, who include a former Navy pilot, soldiers, officers and intelligence analysts.
"We do not arrive at this conclusion lightly," the lawmakers wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. The lawmakers include Reps. Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
"These new allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect. We must preserve the checks and balances envisioned by the Founders and restore the trust of the American people in our government. And that is what we intend to do."
Congress on Monday pressed for full disclosure of a whistleblower's complaint about Trump and pushed the White House to release a transcript of Trump's call with the Ukrainian president.
Trump has acknowledged the phone call. On Monday, he said he didn't want to give money to Ukraine if there were corruption issues.
"It's very important to talk about corruption," Trump told reporters as he opened meetings at the United Nations. "If you don't talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is, is corrupt?"
Later Monday, Trump denied telling the Ukrainian president that his country would get U.S. aid only if it investigated Biden's son. "I didn't do it," he said.
The fresh calls for impeachment proceedings come as House Democrats are heading into a closed-door meeting Tuesday with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.