A senior career official at the Office of Management and Budget testified on Saturday about a budget process that went off the rails when nearly $400 million in US military aid to Ukraine was withheld earlier this year, and that he did not know for sure the reasoning behind the freeze in funds, sources familiar with his testimony told CNN.
Mark Sandy arrived on Capitol Hill Saturday for a more than five-hour closed-door deposition in the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
He spoke about how unusual of a process it was that a political appointee came in, took over the apportionment process and placed a hold on the military aid, a source told CNN.
CNN previously reported that Michael Duffey, the OMB's associate director for national security programs and a Trump political appointee, signed at least some of the documents delaying aid to Ukraine, according to two sources. Normally a career budget official signs such documents.
Sandy testified that he raised questions to the OMB general counsel about whether the move violated the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the source said. He would not discuss what the OMB general counsel said because of concerns it could violate privilege.
More on the aid: This past summer, the Trump administration took the unusual step of freezing nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine -- intended in part to help the country counter Russian aggression -- before the President's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The administration eventually released the military aid in September after congressional Republicans raised concerns and the White House was made aware of a whistleblower complaint about the July call.
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