1

UNCLASSIFIED

3 PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE,

4 joint with the

5 COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM

6 and the
7 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

8 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

9 wAsHrNGToN, D.C.

10

11

72

13 DEPOSITION OF: JENNIFER WILLIAMS

74

15

76

t7

18 Thunsday, Novemben 7, 2@19

19 Washington, D.C.
20

2t in the above matter was held in

The deposition Room HVC-304,

22 Capitol Visiton Centen, commencing at 9:35 a.m.

23 Present: Repnesentatives Schiff, Swalwell, Heck, Maloney, and

24 Demings.

25 AIso Pnesent: Raskin, Nonton, Penny, Jordan, and Meadows.

UNCLASSIFIED
 2
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2 Appeanances:

5 Fon the PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE:

10

11

72

13

74

15

16

L7

18

19

20

2L

22

23 Fon the COMMITTEE 0N OVERSIGHT AND REFORM:

24

25

UNCLASSIFIED
 3
UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED
 4
UNCLASSIFIED

1 Fon the COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

8 Fon ]ENNIFER WILLIAMS:

10 EMILY DAMRAU

1L ]USTIN SHUR

72 CALEB HAYES.DEATS

13 ELIZABETH SAWYER

L4 MOLOLAMKEN

L5 600 New Hampshine Ave, N.W.

16 Washington, 0. C . 20037

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1 THE CHAIRMAN: We'11 come to onden. Good monning, Ms. Wi11iams,

2 and welcome to the House Penmanent Select Committee on Intelligence
3 which, along with the Foneign Affains and Ovensight Committees, is
4 conducting this investigation as pant of the official impeachment

5 inquiny of the House of Repnesentatives.

6 Today's deposition is being conducted as a part of the impeachment

7 inquiry. In light of attempts by the Office of the Vice Pnesident to

8 dinect you not to coopenate with the inquiny, the committee had no

9 choice but to compel youn appeanance today. We thank you for complying

10 with a duly authonized congnessional subpoena, as othen cunnent and

11 fonmen officials fnom acnoss the Fedenal Govennment have done.

72 Ms. Williams curnently senves as the Special Advisen fon Eunope

13 and Russia in the Office of the Vice Pnesident. She has been detailed
L4 to this position fnom the State Depantment since April 2OL9. Ms.

15 Williams is a long-senving careen Foneign Senvice Officen, and

16 pneviously held posts at our embassies in the United Kingdom, Lebanon,

77 and lamaica.
L8 Ms. Williams, thank you fon youn senvice. We look fonwand to youn
19 testimony today, including your knowledge of and involvement in key
20 policy discussions, meetings, and decisions on Ukraine that nelate
2t dinectly to aneas unden investigation by the committees. This
22 includes developments nelated to the necall of Ambassadon Yovanovitch;

23 the Pnesident's Ju1y 25, 2079, call with Ukrainian President Zelensky;
24 the hold placed on the Pnesident on neanly -- placed by the Pnesident
25 on neanly $400 million of secunity assistance for Uknaine; and the Vice

UNCLASSIFIED
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1 Pnesident's meeting and phone call with Pnesident Zelensky in

2 Septemben. We wilt also have questions about the Office of the Vice
3 Pnesident's response to the impeachment inquiry, including the
4 committee's request fon documents, with which the Vice Pnesident has
5 nefused to comply.

5 Finally, to nestate what I and othens have emphasized in oun

7 intenviews, Congness will not tolenate any nepnisal, thneat of
8 nepnisal, or attempt to netaliate against any U.S. Govennment official
9 fon testifying befone Congress, including you on any of your
10 colleagues. It is disturbing that the Office of the Vice Pnesident,
7L in coordination with the White House, has sought to pnohibit a public
L2 senvant, such as younself, fnom coopenating with the inquiny and with
13 Congness and have tnied to limit say. This is
what you can
t4 unacceptable. Thankfully, consummate pnofessionals like you have
15 demonstnated nemankable counage in coming fonwand to testify and telI

16 the tnuth.
t7 Befone I to committee counsel to begin the intenview, I
tunn
18 invite Ranking Memben Nunes on, in his absence, a minonity memben of
19 the Foneign Affairs on Ovensight Committees to make any opening
20 remanks.

2t MR. IORDAN: Thank you, Mn. Chairman.

22 I just want to welcome Ms. Williams and thank hen fon her senvice
23 to oun countny.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Mr. Goldman.
25 MR. GOLDMAN: Thank you, Mn. Chainman.

UNCLASSIF]ED
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1 This is a deposition of Jennifen Williams conducted by the House

2 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence punsuant to the impeachment

3 inquiny announced by the Speaker of the House on Septemben 24th, 2O19,

4 and affinmed by House Resolution 66@ on Octoben 31st, 2O19.

5 Ms. Williams, if you could please now state youn fuII name and

6 spe1l your last name fon the recond.

7 MS. WILLIAvIS: lennifen Williams. And, sorny, spell that as

8 well on

9 MR. GOLDMAN: Common spelling?

10 MS. WILLIAVIS: Common spel1ing, yes.

11 MR. GOLDMAN: Along with othen proceedings in funthenance of the
L2 inquiny to date, this deposition is pant of a joint investigation led

13 by the Intelligence Committee, in coondination with the Committees on

L4 Foneign Affains and Ovensight and Refonm.
15 In the noom today ane majonity staff and minonity staff fnom all
16 thnee committees. And this will be a staff-Ied deposition. Membens,

t7 of counse, fidy ask questions during thein allotted time, as has been
1,8 the case in eveny deposition since the inception of this investigation.
19 My name is Daniel Goldman. I'm the Dinecton of Investigations
20 fon the Intelligence Committee's majonity staff, and I want to thank
27 you, again, fon coming in today.
22 Let me do some bnief intnoductions. To my right hene is Daniel
23 Noble. He's the Senion Investigative Counsel fon the Intelligence
24 Committee's majority staff. Mn. Noble and I will be conducting most
25 of the intenview fon the majonity.

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7 And now I'lI ask my minonity countenpants to intnoduce

2 themselves.
3 MR. CASTOR: Steve Caston with the Republican staff.
4

8 MR. GoLDMAN: will be conducted entinely at the

This deposition
9 unclassified level. Howeven, it is being conducted in HPSCI secune
10 spaces and in the pnesence of staff with appnopriate security
11 cleanances.

L2 It is the committee's expectation that neithen questions asked

13 of you, non answens provided by you, will nequire discussion of any
L4 information that is cunnently on at any point could be propenly
15 classified unden Executive Onden t3526. You ane neminded that
16 EO-13526 states that, quote, "In no case shall information be

L7 classified, continue to be maintained as classified, on fail to be

18 declassifiedr " unquote, fon the punpose of concealing any violations
19 of law on preventing embannassment of any penson on entity.
20 If any of oun questions can only be answened with classified
27 infonmation, please infonm us of that fact befone you answen the
22 question and we can adjust accondingly.
23 Today's deposition is not being taken in executive session but,

24 because of the sensitive and confidential natune of some of the topics

25 and matenials that will be discussed, access to the transcnipt of the

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1 deposition will be limited to the thnee committees in attendance.

2 Unden the House deposition nules, no Member of Congness non any staff
3 memben can discuss the substance of the testimony that you pnovide
4 today. You and youn attonney will have an oppontunity to neview the
5 tnanscnipt befone it is neleased.
6 Befone we begin, I would like to go over the ground nules fon this
7 deposition. We will be following the House negulations fon
8 depositions which we have previously pnovided to youn counsel. The

9 deposition will pnoceed as follows: The majonity wiII be given one

10 houn to ask questions, then the minonity will be given one houn.
11 Theneaften, we will altennate back and fonth between majonity and

L2 minonity in 45-minute nounds until questioning is complete. We will

13 take peniodic bneaks, but if you need a bneak at any time, please let
t4 us know.

15 Unden the House deposition nuIes, counseL for othen persons on

16 govennment agencies may not attend the deposition. You ane penmitted
L7 to have an attonney pnesent during this deposition and I see that you
18 have brought counsel.
19 At this time, if counsel could please state thein appeanances fon
20 the necond.
2t MR. SHUR: lustin Shun, Emily Damnau, and Ca1eb Hayes-Deats fon
22 Ms. Williams.
23 MR. GOLDMAN: Thene is a stenognaphen taking down everything that
24 is said hene today in onden to make a wnitten recond of the deposition.
25 Fon that necond to be clean, please wait until each question is

UNCLASSIFIED
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L completed befone you begin youn answen, and we will wait until you

2 finish youn nesponse befone asking you the next question. The

3 stenognaphen cannot necond nonvenbal answens, such as shaking youn

4 head, so it is impontant that you answen each question with an audible

5 venbal answen.
6 We ask that you give complete neplies to questions, based on youn

7 best necollection. If a question is unclean or you ane uncentain in

8 youn nesponse, please let us know. And if you do not know the answen

9 to a question on cannot nememben, simply say so.

10 You may only nefuse to answen a question to pnesenve a pnivilege
11 necognized by the committee. If you refuse to answen a question on

L2 the basis of pnivilege, staff may eithen continue to proceed with the
13 deposition, on seek a nuling fnom the chainman on the objection. If
L4 the chain overnules any such objection, You ane nequined to answen the
15 question.
16 And finalIy, you ane neminded it is unlawful to delibenately
that
t7 pnovide false infonmation to Membens of Congness on staff. It is
18 truthfully, but that
imperative that you not only answen oun questions
19 you give fu1I and complete answens to al1 questions asked of you.
20 Omissions may also be considened as false statements.

2t As this deposition is unden oath, Ms. WiIliams, would you please

22 stand and naise youn night hand to be swonn.
23 Do you swear that youn testimony pnovided hene today will be the

24 whole tnuth and nothing but the tnuth?

25 MS. WILLIAVIS: I dO.

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1. MR. GOLDMAN: Thank you. You may be seated.

2 And let the necond neflect that the witness has been swonn.
3 Ms. Williams, if you have an opening statement on youn attorneys

4 have any mattens to discuss, now is the time.

5 MS. WILLIAMS: I do not have an opening statement today. Thank

6 you.

7 MR. GOLDMAN: Nothing fnom the attonney?

8 MR. SHUR: Nothing.

9 THE CHAIRMAN: Mn. Noble is necognized fon one houn.

10 MR. NOBLE: Thank you, Mn. Chairman.

11 EXAMINATION

L2 BY MR. NOBLE:

13 a Ms. Williams, you wene detailed fnom the State Depantment

t4 to the Office of the Vice Pnesident in Apnil of this yean. Is that
15 connect ?

16 A That is connect.
L7 a Can you just descnibe bniefly youn expenience, youn
18 govennment expenience pnion to being detailed to OVP?
19 A Sune. So I joined the Depantment of Homeland Secunity in
20 2OO5, shontly aften gnaduating fnom univensity, and I senved fon

21. Secnetary Michael Chentoff fon neanly 1 yean as a political appointee.

22 And then duning that time, I took the Foneign Senvice exam and joined
23 the Foneign Senvice Ln 2QO6.
24 Duning my neanly 14 yeans in the Foneign Senvice, I've done touns,

25 as mentioned, in Jamaica, Beirut, Lebanon, wonked on the Synia

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L humanitarian crisis fon oun Refugee Bureau fon about 4 yeans, senved
2 oun Deputy Secnetany of State covening Middle East and Nonth Afnica
3 policy, did a yean of gnaduate school duning that time as weI1, and
4 most necently, senved fon 3 yeans at oun Embassy in London as a Public

5 Affains Officen.
6 a Did you go to the -- to OVP fnom the Embassy in the U.K.?

7 A Yes, I did.
8 a And can you just descnibe bniefly youn noles and
9 nesponsibilities in OVP?

10 A Sune. I am one of the Vice Pnesident's Special Advisens on

11 his foneign policy team. I senve in the National Secunity Affairs

t2 Office unden the command of Lieutenant Genenal Keith Ke11ogg, who is
13 the National Secunity Advison to the Vice President. In my role, I
1.4 coven Eunope and Russia issues.
15 So, in that regard, I keep the Vice Pnesident awane and abneast

16 of all foneign policy issues going on in that negion, prepane him fon
t7 his foneign policy and foneign leaden engagements, whethen that's by

18 phone calls on in-penson meetings here in Washington, as well as tnavel

19 ovenseas to the EunoPean negion.
20 a And does that include mattens nelating to Ukraine?

2t A It does.
22 a What is the Vice Pnesident's nole as it nelates to U.S.

23 nelations with oun Eunopean aI1ies, and Uknaine in panticulan?

24 A So the Vice Pnesident cannies out the President's foneign

25 policy and is a key advisen to the President, as well as a nepnesentative

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L of the govennment overseas. He often has intenactions with foneign

2 leadens, again, both hene in tlJashington and ovenseas, often
3 panticipates in meetings with the Pnesident as well as holds his own

4 meetings with ovenseas leaders.

5 In the case of Uknaine, I can only speak to my time since starting
6 in April, but once Pnesident Zelensky was elected in Apni1, the Vice
7 Pnesident elected to make a congnatulatony call of his own to the new
8 Ieaden in onden to establish a good nelationship with him.
9 And I've kept him up to date on developments in Ukraine thnoughout

10 the summen. And as -- as the committees ane awane, theVice Pnesident

tt was asked by the Pnesident to go to Poland in eanly Septemben, whene
12 the Vice Pnesident met with Pnesident Zelensky fon the finst time, and

13 so he and has spoken with him by phone aften that as well.

74 a And you pnepped the Vice Pnesident fon those phone cal1s and

15 meetings ?

16 A That's night.
L7 a We'11 go thnough those as we kind of go thnough the outline.
18 In youn no1e, do you communicate dinectly with any Uknainian Govennment

19 officials?
20 A Not often. Oun Embassy in Kyiv neaIIy takes the lead on
2t that. I was in touch fon logistical punposes at vanious points with
22 the Uknainian Embassy hene in Washington related to potential visits.
23 And thene was a delegation of Uknainian officials that came to
24 Washington in JuIy. The gnoup met with my boss, Genenal Kellogg, on

25 JuIy 9th, and so, I helped facilitate that meeting. But othen than

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r that, I have limited engagement directly with Uknainian officials.

2 Q And who do youtypically interact with kind of in the
3 intenagency on Ukraine mattens? Who are youn points of contact at
+ State, DOD, and the NSC?

5 A I wonk pnobably most closely with my NSC colleagues, with

G Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman, who's kind of my counterpant on the

7 NSC, but also with his supenions as well. So pneviously, Dr. Fiona
8 HiIl, mone recently Tim Monnison. At the State Depantment, with the
9 Buneau of Eunopean Affains and the office that covers Uknaine policy,
10 including Deputy Assistant Secnetany Geonge Kent, Assistant Secnetary
It Phil Reeken, and the Ukraine desk team. And then I'm often on email
t2 conrespondence with oun Embassy colleagues in Kyiv, but not as much
13 in-person intenaction.
L4 a And who typically do you cornespond with at the Embassy in
1s Kyiv?

t6 A I've been on email cornespondence with Ambassadon Bill

L7 Taylon. I don't often neach out to him dinectly. It's usually mone
18 I'm copied on email cornespondence on developments going on fnom the

19 Embassy's penspective. And, YoU know, in the lead-up to vanious

zo engagements that the Vice Pnesident had with Ukrainian officials, I
21 was in contact with the Embassy duning those times.
22 a Okay. You nefenenced a call between Pnesident Trump and

23 President Zelensky in Apni1. I think you said it was a congnatulatony

24 call. Is that night?

25 A That's right.

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1 a That's the call on Apnil 21st?

2 A The Pnesident's call was Apnil 2Lst. The Vice President

3 called Zelensky 2 days later on Apnil 23rd.

4 a Okay. Did you -- wene you involved in pnepping the
5 Pnesident for his call on Apnil 21st?
6 A I was not.
7 a Did you listen in on that call?
8 A No.
9 a Did you even get a neadout of that call?
10 A I saw the tnanscnipt of that call in pnepanation fon the Vice
11 Pnesident's calL 2 days laten. We wanted to make sune the Vice
72 President was aware of what the Pnesident's convensation had been.
13 a Do you necall the contents of that call tnanscnipt? Was that
t4 like a memcon of the call?
15 A It was a tnanscnipt in tenms of fonmat veny similan to the
16 one that's been neleased nelated to the Ju1y calI. So similan fonmat.

t7 a Do you necall the substance of the convensation between

18 Pnesident Tnump and Pnesident Zelensky on Apnil 21st?

19 A I do. It was a nelatively bnief caII, I'd say maybe 10
20 minutes on so. It was reaLly focused on congnatulating President
2L Zelensky on his victony in the recent Pnesidential election which had
22 taken place that day, and looking fonwand to a good nelationship with
23 him.

24 a To youn knowledge, was thene -- on necollection, was thene

25 any nefenence to any of the investigations into Bunisma, the Bidens,

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t o? 2OL6 duning that phone call?

2 A Thene was not.

3 a Did you pnep the Vice President fon his call on, I think you

4 said Apnil 23rd. Is that night?

5 A r did.
6 a And what -- did you participate in that call?
7 A r did.
8 a Can you descnibe the convensation between Vice Pnesident
9 Pence and Pnesident Zelensky?

10 A Sune. It was similan. It was an offen of congratulations

11 fon Pnesident Zelensky's necent victony, which was an ovenwhelming

72 victony in that nace. They talked, again, also about the impontance
13 of the U.S.-Uknaine nelationship and how eagen we wene, the U.S. was,

1.4 to see Pnesident Zelensky take steps to implement the agenda on which
15 he had nun, which was veny much focused on anticonnuption, and looking

16 to nealIy bning Uknaine even closen to the tnans-At1antic and Eunopean

L7 community. And there was discussion -- Pnesident Zelensky invited

18 Pnesident Tnump initially, but thene was discussion about Vice

19 Pnesident Pence as we11, to his inaugunation, but the date of that had
20 not yet been set.
21 a Was thene discussion -- sorny, going back to Pnesident

22 Tnump's call on the 21st, was thene any discussion of a possible White
23 House meeting fon Pnesident Zelensky, or a meeting with Tnump on that
24 phone call that you can necall?
25 A I don't necall that in that initial Apnil 21st call. I

UNCLASSIFIED
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UNCLASSIFlED

1 recall Pnesident Zelensky invited Pnesident Tnump to attend his

2 inaugunation in Kyiv. Again, the date hadn't been set, and the
3 Pnesident acknowledged the invitation without making a commitment on

4 the phone at that time.

5 a And did Vice Pnesident Pence nefenence anything nelating to
6 a meeting between Pnesident Trump and Pnesident Zelensky duning his
7 Apnil 23nd call?
8 A I don't believe so. Again, it was mone focused at that time
9 on the issue of who might attend the inaugunation. So Pnesident
10 Zelensky, in the Vice Pnesident's caI1, also extended the invitation
11 to Pnesident Tnump on Vice Pnesident Pence if the Pnesident wasn't
12 available, and the Vice Pnesident looked forwand to accepting that
13 invitation if the dates wonked out.
t4 a In pnepanation fon the Vice Pnesident's calL with Pnesident
15 Zelensky, did anyone at the White House on National Secunity Council
L6 pnovide any talking points or othen lnput fon the Vice Pnesident?

L7 A I wonked with Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, since he had

18 pnepaned the Pnesident's briefing papens fon his call 2 days pnion.
19 So I wanted to make sune that the substance was in line with U.S. policy,
20 but not the talking points, pen se, fon the conversation.
2L a Following those phone calls and the invitation --
22 THE CHAIRMAN: Can you explain a little mone about -- you

23 mentioned how you pnepane the Vice Pnesident fon the call. How did
24 you go about doing that?
25 MS. WILLIAvIS: Yes, sin. So I prepane a bniefing memo, pnoviding

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1 draft talking points on suggested talking points fon the Vice Pnesident
z along with backgnound infonmation. I also pnovided him with a caII

3 of the Pnesident's call tnanscnipt fnom 2 days pnion, a set of talking

+ point cands, and then we did a pnebnief in penson just befone the call.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: And what genenally wene the points that you wanted

6 the Vice Pnesident to communicate duning the call.

7 MS. WILLIA\4S: Finst and fonemost, congnatulations on his
g victory and how eagen he was to establish a good wonking nelationship
9 with pnesident Zelensky and his new administnation, his new cabinet;

10 how the Vice Pnesident looked forwand to seeing Pnesident Zelensky

11 rea11y implement the agenda on which he had nan, had nun, nelated to

t2 anticonnuption nefonms; talking about nefonming the nule of law;

13 refonming the judiciary; taking steps to remove permanent immunity fnom
t4 members of Panliament, fon example, which had neally 1ed to a lot of
15 cornuption in Ukraine oven a long peniod of time; looking at ways to
1.6 neform the defense industny in onden to neally stneamline and neduce
17 waste, and so that we could nea11y incnease and enhance oun secunity
18 nelationship; encounaging President Zelensky to continue to push back
19 against Russian aggnession; and, you know, neally supporting his
20 effonts to do so since he had spoken a lot about that duning his
2t campaign. Along those lines.
22 THE CHAIRMAN: And what was the punpose of including the call
23 record fnom the President's call in the Vice Pnesident's binden?
24 MS. WILLIAI4S: I thought it would be usefuL fon the Vice Pnesident

25 to be awane of what the Pnesident had conveyed to Zelensky two days

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1 pnion.

2 THE CHAIRMAN: Mn. Nob]e.

3 BY MR. NOBLE:

4 a What nole does Genenal Kellogg play in helping pnepane fon

5 these types of calls?

6 A Genenal Kellogg was present fon the call as well as the
7 pnebrief with the Vice Pnesident just befone the catl as weII, and he

8 neviews the talking points and bniefing memos that ane put fonwand to

9 the Vice Pnesident.

10 a That you pnepane?
11 A That I pnepane.
L2 a It goes to Genenal Kellogg?
13 A That's night.
14 a How frequently does General Kellogg speak with the Vice
15 President ?

16 A Fainly fnequently. I'm often not pnesent for those

t7 engagements, so I couldn't teII you veny specifically, but I would say

18 at least on a daily basis, when the Vice Pnesident is not tnaveling.

19 a And do you know does Genenal Kellogg have dinect

20 conversations with the Pnesident?

2L A I believe he does, but, again, I'm not pnesent fon those,
22 so I couLdn't teII you how fnequently on on what kind of topics they
23 discuss.
24 a And why do you say that they do have dinect communications?

25 How do you know that?

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7 A Genenal Kellogg often will panticipate in meetings with the

2 Pnesident oven in the Oval Office, whethen those ane mone fonmal foneign
3 policy engagements on intennal staff meetings, including the
4 Pnesident's intelligence bniefings. Again, I've neven been pnesent
5 fon those, so I can't rea1Iy speak to what they discuss.
6 a Does Genenal Kellogg ever telI you about what happens in

7 those meetings?
8 A Not genenally, unless thene's some specific detail that
9 might nelate to an upcoming engagement fon the Vice Pnesident.
10 a Now, the President and the Vice Pnesident's call took place
11 shortly befone Ambassador Yovanovitch was necalled fnom Kyiv. Do you
t2 necall that?
13 A That's night.
L4 a Is that night?
15 Did you have any sense about what was about to happen to Ambassadon
15 Yovanovitch when those calls wene taking place?

t7 A I can't necall pnecisely when I finst saw some of the media

18 neponting, the open sounce reponting about concerns about Ambassadon
19 Yovanovitch's ongoing position in Uknaine, and how that ovenlaps with
20 the pnecise timing of those two calls, but I do necaII seeing within
2L Apni1, the ApniI timeframe, the media neponting about Ambassador

22 Yovanovitch.

23 a And do you necall the substance of the media neponting that

24 you wene seeing at that time?

25 A I necall thene being stonies about -- about centain

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1 individuals expnessing concenns, including Mn. Giuliani, about

2 Ambassadon Yovanovitch and hen loyalty to the Tnump administnation,

3 but, again, it was all just open sounce neponting.
4 a Do you necall who else was speaking about Ambassadon

5 Yovanovitch in the pness? You mentioned othen pensons besides Rudy

6 Giuliani.
7 A I necall -- and I couldn't give you the pnecise date -- that
8 I believe the Pnesident's son, Don ln., at one point netweeted a story
9 about Ambassadon Yovanovitch, but I couldn't teLl you the timeline.
10 a Did you have the opportunity to wonk with Ambassadon
11 Yovanovitch on Uknaine befone she was necalled?
t2 A Not dinectly. in, I believe, a couple of
She panticipated

13 intenagency policy committee meetings, in which I also panticipated,

14 and so she was on scneen via video teleconfenence. And so I listened

15 to hen updates fnom post, but I had never met, and stilI have never
16 met hen in penson.
t7 a Wene you familian with hen wonk in Uknaine, particulanly on
18 anticornuption efforts?
19 A Only vaguely. Befone coming to this position in the Vice
20 Pnesident's office, again, I was in oun embassy in London and very much
2t focused on those issues. So I wasn't tracking the Ukraine issue quite
22 as closely.
23 a What date did you join OVP?
24 A Apnil lst.
25 a Okay. In Apni1, was thene any concenn within the Office of
UNCLASSIFIED
 22
UNCLASSIFIED

1 the Vice Pnesident on the White House mone genenally about Ambassadon

2 Yovanovitch that you wene awane of?

3 A Not that I was aware of.
4 a Did you even speak with the Vice Pnesident about Ambassadon
5 Yovanovitch befone she was necalled?
6 A No, I neven had a convensation with the Vice Pnesident about
7 Ambassadon Yovanovitch.I believe I lncluded a wnitten update just
8 neporting on when her final date at post was and some of the pness
9 neponting about hen situation in a negulan nightly update to the Vice
10 Pnesident, but I neven had an in-penson convensation.

11 a What about with Genenal Kellogg, did you even discuss the
L2 situation with him?

13 A Around that time as weII, and I think it was late Apnil when

1.4 that news was coming out, I raised some of the media neporting in one

15 of our negulan staff meetings to Genenal Ke1logg.

16 a And what did he -- how did he respond?

t7 A We didn't have a fulsome convensation. It was mone of I was

1.8 just providing him with an update, and he acknowledged that. And

19 laten, I pnovided him with, you know, a wnitten summany of some of the
20 media neponting I had seen fon his awaneness.

2t a Did you have any discussions with anyone else in the Office
22 of the Vice Pnesident on the White House about these media reports about
23 Ambassador Yovanovitch, that you can necall?
24 A Around that time -- and, again, I couldn't give you a pnecise
25 date -- I necall speaking with Fiona Hill, Dn. HiII, and Lieutenant

UNCLASSIFIED
 23
UNCLASSIFIED

1 Colonel Vindman about the situation befone it was clean whethen

2 Ambassadon Yovanovitch was going to be recalled. She had been necalled

3 to Washington fon consultations. At that time, it wasn 't clean if that
4 meant she was going to be leaving hen post.
5 So I had a convensation with Dn. HiII about the situation, but

6 basically, we wene both just expressing that it was unclean what was

7 going to happen, and that it seemed like it was a shame that she was

8 going to be nemoved fnom the position.

9 a And why do you say it was a shame?
10 A In -- I think Dn. Hill had wonked more cLosely with
11 Ambassadon Yovanovitch, so that was neally more hen opinion. But from
72 what I had known fnom State Depantment colleagues, Ambassadon
13 Yovanovitch had senved a veny dedicated and upstanding careen,
L4 including in her time in Kyiv. So we wene not awane of any neason that
15 she would need to be necalled fon cause.
L6 a Wene you generally familiar with Ambassadon Yovanovitch,

77 having been in the Foneign Senvice fon so long? Had you heand of hen

18 on hen reputation?
19 A I had heard hen name but, to be honest, I had been mone focused
20 on Middle Eastenn policy pnion to going to London. So my undenstanding

2L is she's had mone of a focus in Eunasia and Russia, so oun paths nea1ly

22 hadn't cnossed.

23 a Okay. Anound that time, had you even heand of these

24 associates of Rudy Giuliani, Mn. Pannas, Lev Pannas? Had you heand
25 that name befone?

UNCLASSIFIED
 24
UNCLASSIFIED

1 A I had not, no.

2 a What about Igon Fnuman?

3 A No.

4 a Wene you familian with any of thein effonts to tny to get

5 Ambassador Yovanovitch nemoved?

6 A No. I'd seen the bnoaden media neporting, but I hadn't -- I

7 was not familian with those two individuals.
8 a Wene you familian, on did you have any awareness of this
9 dossienof matenial that was put togethen about it's denogatony
10 matenial of Ambassadon Yovanovitch that was sent to the State
11 Depantment ?

L2 A I only became awane of that mone necently thnough othen

13 testimony and othen discussions.
!4 a At the time you - -
15 A No.
16 a -- had no awaneness that that had been compiled and sent to

77 the State Depantment?

18 A No.

19 a Did you - - you said that you infonmed Vice Pnesident Pence

20 and Genenal Kellogg about the nemoval of Ambassador Yovanovitch, is

2L that night, on wene they alneady aware?

22 A Yes. I had pnovided a wnitten update to the Vice Pnesident

23 in oun negulan daily repont, just stating that Ambassadon Yovanovitch's

24 last day at post, if I'm connect, was going to be May 6th and that - - and
25 provided some commentany about some of the media neponts sunnounding

UNCLASSIFIED
 25
UNCLASS]FIED

1 hen nemoval.

2 I was not aware of any othen discussions on infonmation outside

3 of those channels, I did not pnovide those. And, again, I
and so, had

4 mentioned it to Genenal Kellogg in a staff meeting.

5 a Do you know whethen Vice President Pence on General Kellogg
6 wene othenwise aware of the situation involving Ambassador Yovanovitch

7 on that the Pnesident had concenns about hen?

8 A I don't know. I'm not awane.

9 a When did you finst become awane of Rudy Giuliani's activities
10 in Uknaine?

TT A Thnough media neponting, I want to say probably eanly in

72 Apnil, not long after I had stanted my position. I was awane of some

13 intenviews that he had given neganding his concerns about connuption

t4 and about things going on in Uknaine, but, again, it was all just fnom
15 open sounce neponting.
16 a Wene you awane of his tweets that he was sending out anound
17 that time?

18 A I don't folLow him on Twitten, so I hadn't seen them myself,

19 but I had seen them neponted in the media.

20 a And did you -- did thene come a time when you became awane

2L that he was advocating initiate centain investigations?

fon Uknaine to
22 A I think the finst media nepont I necall that was specific
23 to particulan investigations was an intenview he did with a Uknainian
24 outlet towands the end of May. I want to say May 28th. And I saw that
25 in a wnitten summany fnom oun Embassy colleagues who do an English

UNCLASSIFIED
 26
UNCLASSIFIED

L language tnanslation of Uknainian news on a daily basis.

2 And I noted that in that intenview that Mn. Giuliani had given,

3 he neferenced panticular investigations that he would like to see the

4 Uknainians undentake.
5 a And which investigations wene those?
6 A I believe they related to the 2016 election, and what nole,
7 if any, Ukraine may have played in that, as well as looking into the
8 situation with fonmen Vice President Biden's son and Burisma.

9 a And you said that anticle you saw in late May. Pnion to that,
10 wene you awane that Giuliani was pnessing fon those investigations?
11 A That's the finst time I necall seeing those panticulan

L2 investigations mentioned by Mn. Giuliani in the press.

13 a Do you necall a New Yonk Times anticle in eanly May
L4 that -- whene Giuliani announced that he was going to be tnaveling to
15 Ukraine to tny to meet with Pnesident Zelensky about these mattens?
16 A I do. I necall that anticle. I just don't nememben if those
77 panticulan investigations wene mentioned in that article, but yes.
18 a Okay. It seems like you followed the news about Uknaine

19 nelatively closely aften you stanted in the Office of the Vice

20 President. Is that fain to saY?

27 A I do.
22 a Did you even discuss Rudy Giuliani's activities in Uknaine
23 with Genenal Kellogg?
24 A Not -- not specifically. I had flagged the press covenage

25 of Mn. Giuliani's statements about what he wanted to see the Uknainians

UNCLASSIFIED
 27
UNCLASSIFIED

t do in the context of Ambassadon Yovanovitch's nemoval, but othen than

2 that had no specific discussions with Genenal Kellogg about Mn.

3 Giuliani.
4 a What about with the Vice Pnesident?

5 A No.

6 a Did you flag those -- the news anticles fon the Vice
7 Pnesident ?

8 A I had flagged the May 28th Uknainian intenview -- Uknainian

9 media intenview in a daily update for the Vice President, but had had
10 no pensonal convensations with him about it.
11 a Okay. Did you become aware of Giuliani's intenest in having
L2 Ukraine investigate Bunisma Holdings?
13 A I believe I became aware of it thnough that May 28th
l4 intenview. Again, I can't necall if it was also mentioned in the New
15 Yonk Times intenview -- on anticle from sevenal weeks pnion.

16 a And fnom that anticle, did you become awane that Bunisma was

L7 connected to Hunten Biden at that time?

18 A I believe so, but the neason I hesitate is I sti1I -- the

19 name Bunisma hadn't reaIly nesonated with me at that time. I was

20 more -- I centainly necognized that he was interested in looking into

2L the nole that fonmen Vice Pnesident Biden's son had played on the boand

22 of a company.
23 a Okay. And sometime laten, you made the connection that that
24 company was Bunisma?

25 A That's night.

UNCLASSIFIED
 28
UNCLASSIFIED

7 a Did you know, you know, at whose dinection Giuliani was

2 working on these mattens in Uknaine?

3 A I did not.
4 a Do you know the nelationship between the Pnesident and

5 Giuliani ?

6 A I can see in the pness. I've never intenacted

Only from what

7 with Mn. Giuliani on seen him in penson with the Pnesident.

8 A And what was that relationshiP?
9 A Acconding to pness neponting, I undenstood Mn. Giuliani to
10 be wonking as the President's pensonal attonney.
11 a Did you ever have any discussions with any of youn colleagues

72 at the NSC about Giuliani's activities in Uknaine?

13 A Not specifically that I can necall. I think my colleagues

74 at the NSC wene also tnacking the pness neponting about Mn. Giuliani's
15 intenest in pushing the Uknainians to undentake certain
16 investigations, but we never had neally substantive convensations on

L7 that issue specifically.

18 a You neven had -- you discussed concerns about what Giuliani
19 was up to in Uknaine with Lieutenant Colonel Vindman?

20 A I think if -- you know, if we'ne still in the context of

2L April-May, again, I spoke with Dn. Hill and Lieutenant Colonel Vindman
22 anound the time of Ambassadon Yovanovitch's nemoval, and we had no

23 specific information, but it seemed nelated to some of Mn. Giuliani's

24 statements about concenns about hen penfonmance and political leaning.
25 So, in that context, we discussed it. But, again, I don't necaII

UNCLASSIFIED
 29
UNCLASSIFIED

1 any neally substantive discussions specifically about Mn. Giuliani.

2 a Did it naise any kind of ned flags fon you that you had this
3 pnivate citizen out in Uknaine, a countny that you coven, pnessing these
4 investigations, pnessing fon the removal of an Ambassadon, and you're

5 kind of just leanning about it in pness neponts?

6 A It wasn't clean at the time what exactly his nole was and
7 how official it might be. Again, not being pnivy to the nelationship

8 between Mn. Giuliani and the Pnesident, it neally wasn't clean at that

9 time, on neally thnoughout the counse of the summen, what kind of nole
10 he was playing and in what kind of capacity, and how that might ovenlap

11 with oun official U.S.-Uknaine foreign policy.

L2 a 0n not?
13 A 0n not.
L4 a Did you -- do you know whethen Vice Pnesident Pence even had

15 any meetings on phone calIs on othen communications with Giuliani?

16 A Not to my knowledge.
L7 a What about General Kellogg?

18 A Not to my knowledge.

19 a Aside fnom what Rudy Giuliani was up to in Uknaine, wene you

20 awane of any othen kind of unofficial or back channel lines of
2L infonmation that wene flowing to the Pnesident on Uknaine?
22 A No, no. And, again, fon Mn. Giuliani was only thnough pness
23 neponting.
24 a Ane you familiar with the May 13th meeting between Pnesident

25 Tnump and Pnime Ministen Onban of Hungany?

UNCLASSIFIED
 30
UNCLASSIFIED

T A Yes, I am. I believe the Vice Pnesident also panticipated

2 in that meeting, so I prepared the Vice Pnesident fon that meeting as
3 welI.
4 a Do you know whethen thene was any discussion about Uknaine

5 duning that meeting?

6 A I undenstood that thene was from neceiving a neadout fnom

7 NSC colleagues aftenwands, but I was not in the meeting.

8 a You wene not in the meeting?

9 A No.

10 a Okay. Do you necall what the readout said about the

LL convensation nelating to Uknaine?

72 A I recall NSC colleagues neponting that Mn. Onban had

13 expressed some concenns about Ukraine, but, to be honest, I don't nea11y

74 nememben specifics of his concenns.

15 a Did you on Genenal Kellogg even panticipate in any calls on

16 meetings between Pnesident Tnump and Pnesident Putin whene the matten
L7 of Uknaine came up?
18 A No. And I'm just thinking. I necalI seeing a neadout of
19 one of the President's calls with I believe also in
Pnesident Putin
20 late May, in which Ukraine had come up, but Genenal Kellogg and I wene
2L not on the call or pnesent fon the call.
22 a You saw a readout or a memcon of the call?
23 A That's night.
24 a Do you necaIl what it said about Uknaine?
25 A I neally don't. I'm sorny. I know that it came up in the

UNCLASSIFIED
 31
UNCLASSIFIED

1 contextI think of wanting to see a nesolution to the ongoing conflict

2 with Uknaine, but I don't necall the specifics of that pant of the
3 convensation.
4 a You don't neca1I anything about what Pnesident Putin may have
5 said to Pnesident Tnump about Uknaine?

6 A I don't.
7 a Anything about security assistance, U.S. secunity
8 to Uknaine?
assistance
9 A In convensation with Pnesident Putin?
10 a Yes.

11 A No.

L2 a Ane you familian with an NSC staffen named Kash Patel?

13 A No. I've seen his name come up mone necently in pness
74 neponting nelated to this inquiny, and I've seen -- I've been on email
15 chains with him. He wonks in a different dinectonate than the Eunopean
16 Buneau with whom I wonk most closely. So I knew his name, but I didn't

L7 know him on what his role was.

18 a Do you know whethen he had any involvement in Uknaine mattens

19 at the NSC?
20 A I was not awane that he had any. I've seen pness neponting
2L since that time that indicate that he may have, but
22 a You have no pensonal knowledge of that?
23 A No.

24 a Ane you familian of whethen Mn. Patel even tnaveled to Europe

25 in his cunnent nole as the countentennonism Senion Dinecton at the NSC?

UNCLASSIFIED
 32
UNCLASSlFIED

L A I'm not aware.

2 a So I'd Iike to tunn to the inauguration of Pnesident Zelensky

3 in -- I believe that was on May 2?th.

4 A Uh-huh.

5 THE CHAIRMAN: Is thene any mone light you can shed on the
6 concerns that Onban expnessed on Ukraine?
7 MS. WILLIAvIS: Mn. Chainman, I'm tnying to neca11, but I honestly

8 don't neally necall a lot of the detail of what exactly they discussed.
9 I undenstand I necall that Mn. Onban had some concenns about

10 Uknaine. There's an ongoing issue that Hungany has been blocking

11 ongoing NATO coopenation with Uknaine oven a veny specific issue

T2 nelated to nights of Hunganians living in Uknaine to speak and be taught
L3 Hunganian language.

L4 fainly niche issue, but it's something that's important to

So a

15 Pnesident Onban. So I believe that was pant of the discussion. But

16 othen than that, since I wasn't in the noom, I don't know if thene wene

L7 mone -- you know, funthen discussion about Uknaine.

18 THE CHAIRMAN: And do you have any sense why Onban would bning
19 up Uknaine in a convensation with the U.S. Pnesident?
20 MS. WILLIAMS: I can't speak to what his motivations might have

27 been.

22 THE CHAIRMAN: As a genenal matten, does Mn. Onban take a veny

23 pno-Russia penspective on issues of conflict between the U.S. and

24 Russia ?

25 MS. WILLIAMS: I believe it's fain to say in oun experience that

UNCLASSIF]ED
 33
UNCLASSIFTED

1 Pnesident Onban does tend to -- yes, does tend to have mone pno-Russia
2 views on centain issues.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: And that would include Uknaine?
4 MS. WILLIAVIS: I believe that' s f ain to say.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: And do you know whethen thene were any commitments

6 made by the President to Mn. Onban duning that convensation vis-a-vis

7 Ukraine ?

8 MS. WILLIAVIS: I'm not of any.

awane

9 THE CHAIRMAN: And duning the call between Pnesident Putin and

10 Pnesident Tnump, wene thene any asks by Pnesident Putin vis-a-vis

11 Uknaine ?

L2 MS. WILLIAVIS: I don't necall any.

13 THE CHAIRMAN: 0n any commitments made by the Pnesident?
t4 MS. WILLIAVIS: Not to my necollection.
15 THE CHAIRMAN: MT. Nob]e.

16 BY MR. NOBLE:

!7 a Was thene any discussion in the White House on the Office

18 of the Vice President about Pnime Ministen Onban's concenns about
19 Uknaine ?

20 A Again, to the best of my necollection, in pneparation fon

2t that meeting, we wene tnacking most closely Hungary's concenns about

22 the rights, as they would say, the nights of the Hunganian population
23 living in Uknaine. And the U.S. position is -- has always been to tny
24 to encounage Hungany to stop blocking funther NATO coopenation with
25 Uknaine.

UNCLASSIFIED
 34
UNCLASSIFIED

1. And so, fon example, I had pnepaned the Vice Pnesident to speak

2 to that issue if Uknaine came up in the meeting. But, again, I wasn't

3 in the meeting, so I don't know exactly what was discussed.
4 a Do you know whethen the Vice Pnesident followed those talking
5 points
6 A I don't know.
7 a -- you pnovided fon him?
8 A I don't know if the issue was naised.
9 a Befone we go to the inauguration, I want to go back to
10 Giuliani bniefly. Did you even discuss I asked you about your
11 colleagues at NSC, but how about the State Department? Did you even
t2 discuss with Mn. Kent or Mn. Reeker about Giuliani and what he was up

13 to in Uknaine?

1.4 A No.

15 a No, okay.
16 Aside fnom Pnesident Putin, Pnime Ministen Onban, ane you awane

L7 of any othen convensations Pnesident Tnump had with any foneign leaden
18 relating to Uknaine, aside fnom Pnesident Zelensky?

19 A In that particulan timefname?

20 a Yeah. On even, since then, since you joined OVP.
21 A I mean, I would say that Uknaine is a shaned pnionity countny
22 fon a numben of oun Westenn European allies. And so, I can't necaIl
23 specifically, but I believe that the Pnesident has spoken with
24 Pnesident Macnon and the Pnime Ministens of the U.K., at the time
25 Thenesa May, mone necently Bonis lohnson, and othens about, fon

UNCLASSIF]ED
 35
UNCLASSIFIED

1 exampLe, Eunopean effonts to work towands, you know, implementation

2 of the Nonmandy pnocess in onden to find nesolution to the ongoing
3 conflict in Uknaine. So I believe it's come up in that context with
4 othen leadens, but I couldn't tell you specific dates on conversations.

5 a Okay. So you said, during the Apnil 21st call with President
6 Tnump, Apnil 23nd with Vice Pnesident Pence, Pnesident Zelensky naised
7 the invitation to come to his inaugunation. Is that night?
8 A That's night.
9 a Can you descnibe the -- kind of the followup fnom those phone
10 ca11s, leading up to the inaugunation on May z?th, specifically, like
11 whethen -- discussions about whethen the Pnesident would attend,
12 whether Vice Pnesident Pence would attend, on who would nepnesent the
13 United States at the inaugunation?
L4 A Sune. So shontly aften the President's Apnil 21st
15 convensation, I learned thnough email fnom oun chief of staff that the
16 Pnesident had asked the Vice Pnesident to attend the inauguration.
77 Again, at that time the date of the inaugunation had not yet been set.
18 a Can I pause you fon a second?
19 A 0f counse.
20 a You mentioned chief of staff. Do you mean Mick Mulvaney on

2t the Vice Pnesident's chief of staff?

22 A The Vice Pnesident's chief of staff.
23 a And who is that?
24 A Manc Shont.
25 a I'm sonny, I intennupted. I just wanted to get a name on
UNCLASSIFIED
 36
UNCLASSIFIED

1 the necond.
2 A that's okay. That's fine completely.
No,
3 So I leanned fnom our chief of staff, Manc Shont, that we should

4 start planning fon the Vice President to possibly panticipate

5 if -- again, if the dates wonked out.
6 of the scheduling constraints that we wene looking at was,
One

7 oun undenstanding at the time, was that the Ukrainians were looking
8 to have the inaugunation towands the end of May, maybe early June was

9 the best infonmation that oun Embassy colleagues in Kyiv had at the
10 time.
tt President Tnump was going to be tnaveling ovenseas, both at the
72 end of May and eanly in June, so thene was a veny nannow window in which
13 the Vice Pnesident would be able to tnavel ovenseas, in onden to avoid
L4 a double absence.
15 So, fnom a scheduling perspective, we wene planning, but it nealIy
15 would depend on when the Uknainians decided to nail down the specific
77 date. So we stanted that kind of planning pnocess, just in
18 hypothetical tenms, I suppose.
19 a And do you know who necommended that Vice Pnesident Pence

20 attend the inaugunation, whose idea it was?

27 A My undenstanding fnom oun chief of staff, Manc Shont, was

22 that the Pnesident asked the Vice Pnesident to attend shortly aften
23 the Pnesident's phone call with Pnesident Zelensky on Apnil 2Lst.
24 a And was the Vice President amenable to that? Was he

25 enthusiastic about going to show suppont for Zelensky, or what was his

UNCLASSIFIED
 37
UNCLASSIFIED

1 attitude ?
2 A I wasn't pnesent when he was asked specifically, so I can't
3 nea11y speakto that. But I can say that in the phone call that the

4 Vice President had 2 days later, obviously, the issue of the

5 inaugunation came up as weII, and the Vice Pnesident accepted that
6 invitation from Pnesident Zelensky, and looked fonward to being able

7 to attend, again, if the dates worked out.

8 a Can you explain why Vice Pnesident Pence did not attend,
9 ended up not attending?
10 A My undenstanding was on May 13th, at some time in the monning,
11 I neceived a phone call fnom oun chief of staff's office fnom one of
L2 my colleagues saying that the Vice Pnesident would not be attending
13 the inauguration.
t4 a And who was that colleaguei
15 A I believe it was the chief of staff's assistant.
16 a And why wasn't Vice Pnesident Pence going to attend? Had
t7 he neceived funthen dinection fnom somebody at the White House?

18 A My undenstanding fnom my colleague -- and, again, f wasn't

19 thene fon the conversation -- was that the Pnesident asked the Vice

20 Pnesident not to attend.

2L a Do you know did that phone call from Mn. Shont's office come

22 befone on aften the meeting with Pnime Ministen Onban that day? That

23 was May 13th, night, you said?

24 A It was. I don't neca1l pnecisely what time the Onban meeting
25 took pIace. I necall that I spoke to my colleague in the chief of

UNCLASSIFTED
 38
UNCLASSIFIED

1 staff's office somewhene aften 11 a.m., anound that timefname, maybe

2 11:15, !!:3Q. But I don't necall what time the Onban meeting was.
3 a Aften it was decided that Vice Pnesident Pence was not going
4 to attend the inaugunation, wene you involved any funthen at that point
5 in helping pnep the delegation that ended up going?

6 A I learned that the Vice Pnesident would not be

So when

7 attending, I ca11ed my NSC colleagues. I called Lieutenant Colonel

8 Vindman to let him know that the Vice Pnesident was not able to attend,

9 since it was neal1y the National Secunity Council's nesponsibility to

10 then fonm a U.S. delegation. So I wanted them to know that.
LT And then since we had alneady stanted making initial steps towands

L2 the Vice Pnesident's tnavel to Uknaine fon that possible event, I

13 alented State Depantment and Embassy Kyiv colleagues that the Vice
L4 Pnesident would not be attending, and then neferned them to the NSC
15 fon funthen discussion about a U.S. delegation.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: I'm going to just foIlow up. I just want to see

t7 if I can go thnough the dates with you. What date was it that you

18 Ieanned fnom Manc Short that the Pnesident wanted the Vice Pnesident
19 to attend the inauguration?
20 MS. WILLIAV1S: APNiI 21St.

2t THE CHAIRMAN: And what date did you learn fnom the assistant to

22 Mn. Shont that the Pnesident now wanted him not to attend?
23 MS. WILLIAVIS: MAy 13th.

24 THE CHAIRMAN: So at some point between April 21st and May L3th,
25 the dinective fnom the Pnesident changed fnom wanting him to attend

UNCLASSIFIED
 39
UNCLASSIFIED

1 to not wanting him to attend. Is that night?

2 M5. WILLIAMS: Those ane the dates on which I was infonmed. I
3 can't neally speak to the -- to what the dinective may have been, but

4 it would appear so.

5 THE CHAIRMAN: Wene you even given a neason fon the Pnesident's
6 change of mind on this?
7 MS. WILLIAVIS: NO.

8 THE CHAIRMAN: And until the dinective was given fon the Vice
up

9 President not to attend, wene pnepanations being made for the Vice
10 President to attend?
LL MS. WILLIAVIS: They wene. We wene making pnepanations. But,
72 again, since the date hadn't actually been selected, it was veny
13 pneliminany. We hadn't gotten veny far.
L4 THE CHAIRMAN: But it was the Vice Pnesident's intention,
15 assuming that it wonked with his calendan, to follow the President's
76 necommendation that he attend?
t7 MS. WILLIAvIS: That's right.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: Mn. Noble.

19 BY MR. NOBLE:

20 a At that point, had you had any intenactions with the

2L Ambassadon to the EU, Gondon Sondland?
22 A I don't believe I had at that point, no.

23 a And wene you awane of how he came to be added to the

24 delegation ?

25 A I saw his name on the final }ist of the delegation members,

UNCLASSIFIED
 40
UNCLASSIFlED

1 but since at that point, the Vice Pnesident wasn't involved, I wasn't

2 pensonally involved in the discussions of who would be part of that

3 delegation.
4 a Aften the tnip, did you get a neadout of the vanious meetings
5 that occunned in Kyiv fnom, Iike, Alexanden Vindman on anyone else?

6 A I did. While the delegation was on the gnound fon the May

7 20th inaugunation, Alex Vindman had sent some email updates reganding
8 thein meetings, and it sounded like they had been veny successful, that
9 the delegation, which ended up being led by Secnetany Penny, had been

10 veny impnessed with Pnesident Zelensky. And I undenstood fnom that

11 communication that the delegation was eagen to come back and meet with
L2 the Pnesident to convey what they had heand fnom the Uknainians.
13 a Did Alex Vindman te1I you about any convensations he had with

t4 Pnesident Zelensky while he was on the ground in Kyiv?

15 A I'm sonny, convensations with whom?

15 a Sonny. Yeah, I ' 1t say it again. Did Alexanden Vindman tell
17 you about any convensations that he had with Pnesident Zelensky duning
18 the inauguration activities in Kyiv?

19 A lust the two of them?

20 a The two of them, on in fnont of othen people, the meetings
2L with Zelensky.
22 A The neadout I neceived fnom Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was

23 describing the delegation's meeting with Pnesident Zelensky. So it

24 was neaIly descnibing the convensation that the whole gnoup had had.
25 a Did he say anything about the issue of advising Pnesident

UNCLASSIFIED
 4t
UNCLASSIFfED

L Zelensky to stay out of U.S. domestic politics come up?

2 A Whether that issue had come up?

3 a Whether that had come up.
4 A I don't recall that coming up in the context of those meetings
5 in Uknaine fon the inaugunation. But, to be honest, I just don't necall
6 pnecisely.
7 a So you got a neadout fnom Lieutenant Colonel Vindman. How

8 about anybody e1se, any othen of the delegation?

membens

9 A Not specifically. I'm tnying to think if, penhaps, Geonge

10 Kent had sent a separate email, but I don't believe so.
11 a Just going back to the Vice Pnesident's potential tnip thene,
t2 ane you aware of whethen Vice Pnesident Pence had any scheduling

13 conflicts that would have pnevented him fnom attending the inaugunation

L4 on May 20th?
15 A We1I, again, when the dinective -- when the discussion on

16 May 13th took place, the date for the actual inaugunation had not yet
L7 been set. So it was not possible fon us to say at that time whether
18 thene was going to be a scheduling conflict. Once lt was set 3 days
19 Iater, I just don't necall what was on the Vice Pnesident's schedule

20 fon May 20th in the end, since we had alneady known that he wasn't going

2L to be attending.
22 a Okay. Now, -- I'm going to ask you
did you come to be awane
23 some questions about Ambassadon Sondland. Did you come to be awane

24 that he was involved in Uknaine mattens at some point?

25 A f recall -- I imagine -- I think my first awaneness of

UNCLASSIFIED
 42
UNCLASSIFIED

L Ambassadon Sondland's involvement would have been when I saw that he

2 was panticipating in the delegation to attend the lnaugunation.
3 a Had you even met on spoke with him before that?
4 A No.

5 a And did you have an undenstanding of why Ambassadon Sondland,

6 as the Ambassadon to the EU, was now involved in Uknaine?

7 A I didn't know specificallY, no.

8 a Did you even come to learn whY?
9 A No.
10 a Did that stnike you as odd, on --
11 A I guess I assumed just because the EU is also veny involved
72 in Uknaine, and has made it a foreign policy pnionity for the Eunopean
13 Union to also fosten a good relationship with Ukraine, and wene also
t4 veny eagen to see the new Pnesident Zelensky administnation come in,
15 I assumed it was nelated to that, but I didn't know specifically.
16 a You wenen't awaneof whethen he had been tasked by the
t7 Pnesident to play some nole in Uknaine?
18 A No.

19 a Did you ever discuss Ambassadon Sondland's noLe in Uknaine

20 with Genenal Kellogg?

27 A No.

22 a 0n with the Vice Pnesident?

23 A No.

24 a How about youn colleagues at NSC?

25 A Not in tenms of his role and why he was involved. Mone

UNCLASSIFIED
 43
UNCLASSIFIED

1 nelated to, you know, again, that he was going to be pant of the
2 delegation, and then also, a part of the debniefing with the Pnesident
3 aften the netunn of the delegation aften the inaugunation, but no

4 speciflc conversations with them about Ambassadon Sondland's nole.

5 a Who did you discuss Ambassadon SondLand's panticipation in

6 the delegation and the debnief with the Pnesident at NSC?

7 A It in negular convensation with Lieutenant Colonel

was

8 Vindman about the -- the effont to put togethen the final delegation

9 Iist, just so I could keep my office informed of that pnocess. And

10 then I flagged fon Alex Vindman, upon the group's retunn, that if the
11 Vice President were available, he would pnobably want to be pant of
72 that debnief since he hadn't been present fon the meetings with
13 Pnesident Zelensky. I -- if I recall cornectly, I don't believe the
t4 Vice Pnesident was actually in that meeting in the end.
15 a And that's the debnief that occunned on May 23rd?
16 A That's night.
L7 a Wene you involved in the debnief at all?
18 A No.
19 a You wene genenally awane that it was happening?
20 A I was awane that it was happening, yeah.
27 A I mean, as somebody who follows Uknaine fon the Vice
22 Pnesident, I mean, wene you -- did you get a neadout fnom the l(ay 23rd
23 meeting what happened in the Ova1 Office?
24 A Not a detailed neadout. Again, I was in regulan contact with
25 Lleutenant Colonel Vlndman about, you know, klnd of next steps on oun

UNCLASSIFIED
 44
UNCLASS]FIED

L Uknaine policy. And I understood that that meeting had taken place
2 and that the delegation had come back fnom Ukraine with a veny positive
3 view of Pnesident Zelensky, but I didn't get a detailed neadout of how

4 that meeting had gone.

5 a Wene you awane of whethen Lieutenant Colonel Vindman

6 panticipated in the debnief in the 0va1 Office on not?
7 A I don't know, to be honest. I don't think he did, but I'm
8 not 100 pencent sune.

9 a Do you know why he did not participate?

10 A I don't.
11 a Did you speak with anybody else about what happened in the
L2 Oval Office on May 23nd?
13 A No. No convensations, no.

l4 a Wene you awane of how Pnesident Tnump reacted to the

15 delegation's recommendations upon thein retunn?

16 A No. I neven got a detailed readout of the meeting.
L7 a Did you even have any communications with Ambassadon Volken
18 relating to Uknaine?

19 A Not me personally. I was on some email chains in which he

20 was a pant of those convensations as weI1, but no.

21. a Did you even panticipate in any meetings with Ambassadon

22 Volken ?

23 A I did. I don't recall the precise date, but I want to say

24 maybe eanly May, Ambassador Volken had a negulan senies of video

25 confenences with his Fnench and Genman, maybe British, but I think

UNCLASSIF]ED
 45
UNCLASSIFIED

1 mostly French and Genman countenpants to -- it was kind of a small gnoup

2 that wene all pushing towands pnogness in the Nonmandy pnocess.
3 And so they were just kind of companing notes on what each of those
4 countnies had taken away fnom initial engagements with the Zelensky
5 administnation. So I joined one of those video conferences
I reca11

6 that Ambassador Volken chained at some point in May. I can't necal1

7 the date.
8 a But neven had any direct convensations with him about mattens
9 nelating to Uknaine?

10 A No.

11 a Did eithen Ambassador Vo1ken on Ambassadon Sondland even

t2 contact the Office of the Vice Pnesident on have any communications

13 with the Vice Pnesident, to youn knowledge?
L4 A Not to my knowledge.

15 a What about with Genenal Kel}ogg, eithen of the Ambassadons?

16 A Not to my knowledge.

t7 a Wene you at all awane of Ambassadon Volker and Ambassadon

18 Sondland's communications with Rudy Giuliani --
19 A No.

20 a beginning in on anound JuIy of 2Ot9?

27 A No, I was not aware.

22 a So you had no idea that they wene talking to Rudy Giuliani

23 about Uknaine mattens?
24 A No.

25 a Did you even have any intenactions with Ambassadon Bolton

UNCLASSIFIED
 46
UNCLASSfFIED

7 on Dn. Kuppenman?

2 A About Uknaine?
3 a Relating to Uknaine on -- on mone genenally, what was your
4 kind of -- you intenacted with Alexanden Vindman and you said
5 Mn. Monnison and Dn. Hill sometimes. Did you even have any

6 intenactions with kind of thein supenions at the NSC?

7 A Not one-on-one interactions. I panticipated in several

8 meetings that either Ambassadon Bolton on Dn. Kuppenman chained, but

9 no personal convensations with them. The closest I had was pnobably

10 when Ambassadon Bolton panticipated in a pnebnief with the Vice

11 Pnesident in -- in Poland.
on Septemben Lst
L2 a Okay. We'11 talk a littte bit about that when we get thene.
13 0kay.

L4 Now, you said you had -- you wene at least on some emails with
15 Ambassadon Taylon nelating to Ukraine. Is that night?
15 A That's right.
L7 a Was anybody in the Office of the Vice Pnesident, YoU on anyone
18 eIse, in communication with Ambassadon Taylon befone he was sent back
19 to Kyiv in lune?

20 A No, not prion to -- no.

2L a Wene you awane at all that he was going to be appointed Change

22 d'affaines fon Uknaine?

23 A I had heand his name. I couldn't teII you pnecisely when,

24 but I had heand that thene was discussion of sending him out thene.
25 And I had -- I didn't know him personally. I had heand that he was

UNCLASSIF]ED
 47
UNCLASSIFIED

1 a prion -- a previous Ambassadon to Uknaine, and a veny well-nespected

2 foneign senvice officen, so -- but I didn't know him personally.
3 a Following the delegation to the inaugunation and the meeting
4 in the 0va1 Office on May 23rd, wene you awane of a letten that Pnesident
5 Tnump sent to Pnesident Zelensky, which included an invitation to come

6 visit the White House?

7 A Yes, I was awane of the letten.
8 a Was that letten cinculated in advance to the Office of the
9 Vice Pnesident?
10 A No. My understanding was that NSC colleagues had done an
11 initial dnaft of a letten, of a congnatulations letten. I believe the
L2 initial plan was that Secnetany Penny would take the signed letten with
13 himto deliven it in person, but I believe it wasn't signed befone they
L4 1eft, so that hadn't occunned.
15 And I believe thene was discussion in the 0va1 Office meeting on

16 the 23nd about the letten, but, again, I wasn't thene so I don't know

L7 what they discussed pnecisely.

18 a Do you know how an invitation to the White House got added

19 to that letten?
20 A I don't. My understanding aftenwands, aften it was signed

21 fnom some email cornespondence, was that Ambassador Sondland was

22 centainly suppontive of extending an invitation to Zelensky in that

23 letten. But, again, I wasn't privy to the convensation, so I don't
24 know what the discussion was back and fonth on that issue.
25 a Did you even have any discussions with Genenal Kellogg on

UNCLASSIFIED
 48
UNCLASSIFIED

I the Vice Pnesident about whether on not to suppont a visit fon Pnesident
2 Zelensky to the White House?
3 A I don't believe so, no specific convensations with eithen
4 about that issue.
5 a Wene you familian with whethen on not they wene suppontive
6 of that idea on not suppontive?
7 A I believe in genenal, they wene suppontive of fostening a
8 good stnong wonking relationship with Pnesident Zelensky, but, to my

9 necollection, I don't necall even having a specific convensation about

10 offening a White House visit to President Zelensky.
v. a Did you take any steps to tny to help schedule the meeting?
L2 A I was not involved in that pnocess. NSC really leads that
13 pnocess. I was awane that NSC had, you know, thnough the normal
t4 administnative pnocesses put fonwand a scheduling pnoposal fon that
15 to go -- to be considened by the schedulens. But the Office of the

15 Vice President was not involved in that pnocess.

L7 a Were you, though, genenally supportive of a meeting between

18 Pnesident Tnump and Pnesident Zelensky?
19 A I was.
20 a Wene you awane of any nole that Ambassadon Volken on

27 Ambassadon Sondland on Rudy Giuliani wene playing in whether on not

22 to schedule a meeting with Pnesident Tnump and Pnesident Zelensky?
23 A No, I was not.
24 a At the time?
25 A At the time, no.

UNCLASSIFIED
 49
UNCLASSIFIED

1 a Did you have any discussions with youn colleagues at the NSC

2 about scheduling the meeting?

3 A I don't necal.l any specific discussions on that issue, othen
4 than I was awane that they centainly were suppontive of the meeting
5 being scheduled as well.
6 Within the counse of oun intenagency policy coordination pnocess,
7 oun negulan meetings on Uknaine with interagency colleagues, once the
8 letter -- once the Pnesident's letten had been signed that offened the
9 meeting, it was discussed on a numben of occasions what would be the
10 most oppontune date fon a White House meeting to a take p1ace.
11 My necollection is that agencies wene genenally suppontive of

72 waiting until aften the Uknaine parliamentary elections on JuIy 21st

13 wene oven, just to see how those went and to make sune that it wasn't

14 intenfening at all with that political pnocess. But othen than that,
15 I don't necaLL any specific discussions about scheduling the meeting.

UNCLASSIFIED
 50
UNCLASSIFIED

1 [10:35 a.m. ]
2 BY MR. NOBLE:

3 a Okay. You mentioned kind of intenagency coondination on

4 Uknaine. Wene of a lune 18th meeting and confenence call

you awane

5 that was held from Secnetany Penny's office on June 18th?

6 A No.

7 a What about a lune 28th conference call involving Ambassadons

8 Volken, Sondland, Taylon, and Secnetany Penny?

9 A No.

10 a Ane you aware that they spoke with Pnesident Zelensky laten
LT that day?

72 A I was not awane of that, no.

13 a Ane you at all familian with Ambassadon Volken's and Mr.
74 Kent's tnip to Tononto on July 2nd and 3nd where they met with Pnesident
15 Zelensky?

16 A I am aware that they panticipated in the Tononto - - the

17 Uknaine Refonm Confenence that took place in Toronto on those dates,
18 yes.

19 a Did you speak with either of them in advance of those

20 meetings ?

2t A Not with those two individuals, no.

22 a Did you even get a nead-out of what happened in Tononto?

23 A No, not precisely. Thene had been an original discussion

24 whethen the Vice Pnesident would panticipate in that confenence, but
25 he did not because of a scheduling conflict, so aften that I neally

UNCLASSIFIED
 5L
UNCLASSIFIED

t wasn't involved in that pnocess.

2 a Why was the Vice Pnesident possibly going to panticipant in

3 the Tononto confenence? Is that something that the Vice Pnesident
4 nonmally would attendl Is that that type of confenence?

5 A Not nonmally, but we thought it might be a good oppontunity

6 fon the Vice Pnesident to meet Pnesident Zelensky in person since he

7 hadn't had a chance to do that at that time on at that point.

I In the end, though, it nea11y just didn't make sense logistically
9 since the Vice Pnesident had just been in Canada sevenal weeks pnion,
10 and the confenence itself nea1Iy wasn't at the Vice Pnesident's IeveI,
LT it was a ministenial leve1.
L2 a Ane you awane of whethen Ambassadon Volker had kind of a

13 one-on-one sepanate and apant with Pnesident Zelensky in Tononto? Did

L4 you even hean anything about that?
15 A I understood that they wene planning to have a -- well, I
16 didn't know if it was a one-on-one -- but that the gnoup that ended
77 up going to the confenence planned to meet with Zelensky sepanate fnom

18 the confenence, but I wasn't reaIly involved in eithen the planning

19 fon that on any of the read-outs aftenwands.
20 a Ane you familian with meetings that took place at the White
21 House on July 10th involving Ukrainian officials Andney Yenmak and

22 OIeksandn Danylyuk?

23 A I am awane of them because my boss, Genenal Ke}logg, met with

24 the gnoup on the day befone, on July 9th, but I was not involved at
25 all in the luly 10th meeting.

UNCLASSIFIED
 52
T]NCLASSIFIED

1 a Let's talk a little bit about the July 9th meeting. What

2 was the punpose of the meeting between Genenal Kellogg and the

3 Uknainians ?

4 A AIex Vindman was helping coondinate the Ukrainian

5 delegation's engagements in Washington. So he had alented me that the
5 gnoup was coming, and we thought it would be a useful discussion fon

7 Genenal Kellogg to have, as weI1, to get to know the gnoup, and to hean,
8 you know, the latest of what Pnesident Zelensky's administnation was
9 doing on a nange of issues. So I annanged a meeting to take place on
10 July 9th.
11 a And whene did that take Place?
72 A In Genenal Kellogg's office.
13 a t^Jho panticipated?
L4 A Fon the U.S. side it was General Kellogg, AIex Vindman, and
15 myself.
16 a And what was the discussion?
17 A It was a very positive discussion, probably about 30,
18 40 minutes, about the status. It was veny secunity-focused,
19 obviously. Secnetany Danylyuk was at the time the national secunity
20 advison to Pnesident Zelensky. So it was mone focused on the situation
2t with the conflict with Russia, you know, what steps the Zelensky
22 administration was considening in tenms of making pnogneSs in those
23 negotiations, and, genenally speaking, about the U.S.-Ukraine
24 nelationship, but not about anything mone specific than that.
25 a Did a topic of a White House meeting fon Pnesident Zelensky

UNCLASSIFIED
 53
UNCLASSIFIED

1 even come up in that meeting?

2 A Not to my necollection.
3 a Anything about secunity assistance?
4 A Not secunity assistance --
5 a U.S. secunity assistance to Uknaine?
6 A Right. Rlght. No, just broadly about kind of the
7 U.S.-Ukraine secunity assistance nelationship, but not about any
8 specific assistance funding, if that makes sense.

9 a Now, you said Danylyuk was the national secunity advison to

10 Pnesident Ze1ensky. Ane you awane he's since nesigned --
11 A Yes.

t2 a -- on is no longen in that position?

13 A Yes.
74 a Do you know the cincumstances of that, why he is no longen
15 senving as national security advison?
16 A I don't know specifically, and I can't necaIl exactly when
L7 it was eithen. I want to say end of Septemben.
1.8 a Did you have any involvement in the meetings the next day,
19 on July 10th, with Danylyuk and Yenmak?
20 A I did not.
2L a You weren't in Ambassadon Bolton's office?
22 A No.
23 a Wene you awane that there was a second meeting in the l,rJand
24 Room?

25 A No.

UNCLASSIFIED
 54
UNCLASSIFIED

1 a You know nothing about eithen of those meetings?

2 A No. I mean, I knew that they wene coming in the next day
3 to meet with Ambassador Bolton, but I was not a pant of them.
4 a Did you even speak with Alexanden Vindman on Dn. Hill about
5 what happened in those meetings?
6 A NO.

7 a No.

8 A No. I assumed it would have been a similan convensation to

9 what we had had the day befone, so I neven neached out to get a specific
10 nead -out .

7L a And they neven told you about what had happened?

t2 A No.

13 a or that they had concenns about what had happened in those

74 meetings ?

15 A No.

16 a Okay. When did you finst leann of the hold on Uknaine

17 secunity assistance -- U.S. secunity assistance to Ukraine?
18 A I believe it was JulY 3nd.

19 a And how did you leann about it?

20 A I saw an email -- orr I suppose, a wnitten update,
2L electnonically, that was drafted by Alex Vindman,
22 neponting -- intennally neponting that the State Depantment had

23 notified him that OMB was not cleaning the latest nound of congnessional
24 notification documents to move the next tnanche of secunity assistance
25 fon Uknaine.

UNCLASSIFIED
 55
UNCLASSIFIED

1 a Do you necall who else was on that email?

2 A It was neally an intennal update that AIex had drafted that
3 I'm pant of the distnibution list fon, but it was just within the NSC
4 Eunope team.

5 a Okay. And that's the distnibution list, is the NSC Eunope

6 team ?

7 A Wel1, it's in pnepanation fon a nightly update fon the

8 national security advison. So the national secunity advison would

9 have eventually neceived it. But what I saw was an email just as the
10 pnoduct was being cnafted fon the day.
TL a Okay. Prion to that July 3nd email, did you have any inkling
t2 that the U.S. secunity assistance was going to be put on hold?
13 A No.

14 a Had there been any discussions about it at the NSC to youn

15 knowledge ?

16 A No.

L7 a Had you heand anything about lt fnom OMB?

18 A No.

19 a No. So this kind of came out of the blue?

20 A rt did.
2L a In the email did AIex Vindman pnovide any neason on nelay
22 any neason as to why OMB hadn't cleaned the State funds?
23 A No. At that time it was unclean. I believe that the
24 note -- the update indicated that OMB was holding the assistance in
25 orden to conduct a funthen neview to ensune that the secunity assistance

UNCLASSIFIED
 56
I.INCLASSIFIED

L was sti1l in line with administration prionities.

2 Q Is that what it said in the email?
3 A That's what it said in the email.
4 Q And did AIex Vindman say whene he got that infonmation fnom?
5 A I believe the State Depantment had neponted it to him because
6 that's what OMB had told the State Depantment. I don't know which
z individuals wene involved in that.
s Q And you said that email was in prepanation fon a nightly
9 update to the national secunity advison?

10 A That's night.
L1 a That's lohn Bolton?

L2 A Cornect.
13 a Would you also pnepane a nightly update for General Kellogg
74 on fon the Vice Pnesident and include such infonmation?
15 A We daily pnoduct. I chose not to include that update
do a
16 on that date because it just wasn't neally clear at that time what the

t7 neason might have been fon the hold, whethen it was maybe just mone

18 of an administnative on technical issue. And, genenally speaking, I

19 don't keep the Vice Pnesident infonmed of that level of detail.
20 MR. NOBLE: Okay. I think my time is up, so I'11 tunn it over
2t to my RePublican colleagues.

22 THE CHAIRMAN: One houn fon the minority.

23 MR. CASTOR: Thank You.

24 BY MR. CASTOR:

2s a When was the inaugunation date finally set by the Ukrainian

UNCLASSIFIED
 57
UNCI,ASSlFIED

L Panliament

2 A May 16th.

3 a -- the Rada?
4 A Sorny. May 16th.

5 a And the inaugural was on May 20th?

6 A That's night.
7 a So thene wene 4 days in between the --
8 A Yes. Yes. It was a veny shont notice tunnanound in the end.
9 We had been told essentially it was because the Uknainian Panliament

10 needed to come back into session in onden to officially confinm the

11 inaugunation date, and it wasn't clean what date President Zelensky

t2 would end up recommending to the Panliament. We had been told that
13 they wene looking at the end of May window, but in the end they decided
L4 to move it up to May z0th.

15 a Between the time peniod of Apnil 21st, when you finst learned

16 that the VP may be going to the inaugunal, and the date of the inaugunal,

t7 what types of communications had you been having with the folks in Kyiv?
18 A Just regulan email conrespondence just to hean what they wene

19 heaning fnom the Uknainians about what dates wene maybe unden
20 considenation.
2l But we all necognized that we would not have a final date

22 detenmined until, I believe it was the week of May 13th when the

23 Uknainian Panliament came back into session. So it was speculation

24 based on thein communications with the Uknainian officials.

25 a Okay. So you knew it would be May 1-3th?

UNCLASSIFIED
 58
UNCLASSIFIED

1 A Yes, but we would have to wait until that week to know for
2 sure when the inauguration date would be set.
3 a You mentioned the Pnesident was tnaveling. I believe he was

4 in Japan and then he was going to Eunope.

5 A That's night.
6 a You said that you wene tnying to fit the VP into that space

7 when the President would be in the U.S. Is that conrect?

8 A That's cornect. So we had infonmed the Uknainians that if
9 they wanted the Vice Pnesident to attend, the ideal dates fon us would
10 have been May 29th, May 30th, on June 1st, and if it wasn't one of those

IL dates it would be veny difficult on lmpossible.

L2 A Knowing that you wouldn't have centainty until May 13th on

13 14th on 15th on 16th, did the VP's office take any affinmative steps
L4 to plan the tnip?
15 A We did. I had been in touch with oun advance colleagues,

16 the team that manages the Vice Pnesident's tnavel, so that they could
17 at least have initial convensations with thein embassy countenpants
18 on, you know, logistical anrangements in tenms of hotel availability
19 and security and those type of things. But it was stiIl veny much
20 pneliminany since we didn't have a date.
2t a Do you know if they neserved any hotels on made
22 A I believe -- I can't speak to the specifics since I was not
23 involved, but fnom the email chains that I saw, I believe they wene
24 exploning availability of hotel dates. I don't know what steps were
25 taken to make any nesenvations.

UNCLASSIFIED
 59
UNCLASSIFIED

1 a Do you know if the Secnet Senvice deployed fon thein advance

2 wonk ?

3 A The main convensation I was having with oun advance

4 colleagues at that time was they wene very eager to send out Secret
5 Senvice and othen advance colleagues as soon as possible so they could
6 do pnopen planning. And so that was the ongoing discussion up until
'May just didn't
7 13th, was when can we send out the advance team since we

8 know.

9 a Do you know if the advance team deployed?

10 A I don't know. I don't believe they did in the end, but I'm
11 not 100 pencent confident.
t2 a You don't know if any hotels wene actually booked on
13 reserved ?

L4 A I believe they wene just exploning availability of hotels

15 since we still didn't have a finm date.
16 a Okay. Would the Vice Pnesident have been able to attend on
L7 May 20th?

18 A As I I don't neally recall at this time what was

mentioned,
19 on his schedule for May z?th, Obviously, in the end, it was a veny
20 shont notice, so it would have been difficult, panticulanly since we
2L hadn't sent out the advance team, as fan as I necall. But I just don't
22 necall what was on his schedule that day.

23 a But the window you had pnovided to the Uknainians was May

24 29th, 30th, 31st?

25 A That's connect, night, and lune 1st, because that was the

UNCLASSIFIED
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T window we wene expecting them to be aiming fon.

2 a Okay.

3 A To be honest, we hadn't nea1ly looked that closely at the

4 Vice President's schedule before the President's trip at the end of
5 May just because we wenen't expecting the Ukrainians to look at that
6 timefname.

7 a Okay. And when you -- you mentioned that you heand from Manc
8 Short, one of Manc Short's staffens?
9 A That's night.
10 a And what did that person te1I you on May 13th?
11 A It was a phone call, so I don't necall the pnecise language.
t2 But I necall being advised that the Vice Pnesident would not be
13 attending the inaugunation. I recaIl -- I believe I asked, why not?
t4 And I was told that the Pnesident had told him not to go.

15 a Okay. But you neven had any finsthand knowledge fnom

16 anybody othen than this penson?

L7 A Conrect, I neven had --
18 a What function does this penson penform?
19 A She is an assistant to Manc Shont, oun Chief of Staff, and

20 is veny much involved in the scheduling of the Vice Pnesident's

2t schedule.
22 a Okay. Did you even have any follow-ups with anybody about

23 the decision of the VP not to tnavel?

24 A The only convensation I had was, immediately aften leanning
25 that infonmation, I called my NSC countenpants to let them know just

UNCLASSIFIED
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L so they could stant planning next steps.

2 a But did you have a convensation with Genenal Kellogg?
3 A No. I don't recaLl. I probably 1et him know what I had
4 heand, because I don't believe he was involved in that convensation
5 eithen.
6 a Okay.
7 A But no followup discussion as to the neason why.
8 a Okay. Any othen communications with any othen VP office
9 staff?
10 A Anound that same initial phone ca1I, I also was
time of the
11 in touch with oun head of advance to let him know, since he needed to
L2 tunn off the tnip planning pnocess and alent his colleagues.
13 a Okay. And then did you also communicate back to Kyiv that
L4 the VP was unable to --
15 A I did laten that day. I sent an email to State Depantment
16 and Embassy Kyiv colleagues to let them know that the Vice President
77 would not be attending.
18 a And do you know what you said?
19 A I believe my language was that the Vice Pnesident would not
20 be able to attend. And then I put them in touch with NSC colleagues
21, fon funthen steps on who would be included in the U.S. delegation once

22 the date was set.

23 MR. PERRY: Ma'am, if I could ask -- down hene at

24 the -- Repnesentative Penny fnom Pennsylvania. What's the nonmal, if

25 thene is a nonmal lead time on a bnacket of a nonmal lead time for a

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L Vice Presidential visit ovenseas?

2 MS. WILLIAVIS: Sin, obviously, the mone notice the better.
3 MR. PERRY: Sune. I get that.
4 MS. hIILLIAMS: I will say, fon example, when the Vice Pnesident
5 veny necently went to Tunkey, we got notice of that 48 houns out. So

6 it's possible to obviously do these on shont notice.

7 But, on the other hand, fon the Vice Pnesident's tnip in eanly
8 Septemben, which oniginally was meant to be the U.K., Iceland, and
9 Ineland, we had stanted that planning pnocess months in advance.

10 So ideally, obviously, the mone notice the betten.

7L MR. PERRY: Okay. Thank you.

L2 MS. WILLIAMS: Of COUNSC.

13 BY MR. CASTOR:

L4 a to the July 25th call between the Pnesident

Tunning and

15 Pnesident Zelensky. You wene in the Situation Room?

16 A Yes, sin.
L7 a Pnesent fon that call?
18 A That's night.
19 a And do you nememben who else was in the noom with you?
20 A I necall my boss Genenal Kellogg was there, Lieutenant
2L Colonel Vindman, and Tim Monrison, the Senion Dinecton fon Europe fon
22 NSC. I necall there wene maybe one or two othen NSC colleagues pnesent,
23 but I honestly don't nemember which ones. We had a numben of calls
24 that week, and I just don't necaIl who exactly was in that one.
25 a And was that the finst time you had been on a Pnesidential

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1 phone call?
2 A No.

3 a Okay. And how many calls have you panticipated in?

4 A Oh, probably a dozen since I stanted in April.
5 a Okay. And do you know how the tnanscnipt is pnepaned?
6 A I don't know the mechanics behind how it's pnepaned, no.

7 a Okay. What do you know about it?

8 A I mean, we the Vice Pnesident's office, will get a copy of
9 the tnanscnipts after -- once it's pnepaned so that we can pnovide a
10 copy to the Vice Pnesident. But I don't know anything about the pnocess
11 of pnepaning that transcnipt.
L2 I it's similan to how we neceive tnanscnipts fon the Vice
imagine

13 Pnesident's calls. In that instance oun office, our administnative

t4 team will neceive the electnonic dnaft fnom the White House Situation

15 Room and look at it fon -- mainly to mank the classification levels

16 of the panagraphs, but also to check fon accunacy.

17 a Okay. So the White House Situation Room pensonnel pnepanes
18 the initial dnaft?
19 A I don't know precisely, but that's who we neceive it fnom.
20 a Okay. You don't know if they have count neponten-type
2L devices
22 A I don't know.
23 a - on how they do it?
24 A I'm not sune.
25 a And do you know if they'ne neconded or not?

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1 A I don't know, honestly.

2 a So in the noom, that you reca11, Genenal Ke11ogg, Colonel

3 Vindman, Tim Monnison, and how many other NSC colleagues?

4 A I can't say pnecisely, but I want to say one on two othens.

5 a Okay. Was Dn. Kuppenman thene?

6 A I believe so, but I couldn't teII you 7@Q pencent.

7 a And when you received the tnanscnipt of the caII, wene you

8 involved with the editing pnocess?

9 A Fon that panticulan call?

10 a Yes.

11 A I did not neceive a hand -- a copy of that panticulan call

t2 tnanscnipt. My colleagues who help pnepane the Vice Pnesident's daily
13 bniefing book fon his evening neading neceived the hand copy of that
1.4 panticular tnanscript. And, genenally speaking, we are neven involved
15 in the editing pnocess of the Pnesident's phone calIs, we only have

16 nesponsibility for the Vice Pnesident's caLls.

L7 a So you'ne i.n the Situation Room. Did you take notes?
18 A r did.
19 a But when the initial dnafts of the tnanscnipt came through,
20 you didn't have an oppontunity to check youn notes to the tnanscnipt,
2L suggest edits
22 A No.
23 a -- on that type of thing?
24 A No.
25 a Did you have any communications with anybody in the noom

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t about the editing process of the transcnipt?

2 A No.
3 a Okay. So you didn't have a convensation with Genenal

4 Kellogg about whethen the tnanscnipt was accunate?

5 A No. No. I neven saw that particulan tnanscnipt, so no
6 neason fon me to have that convensation.
7 a Based on being in the noom and taking notes and then neading
8 the tnanscnipt, was it accunate and complete?
9 . A I until the publicly neleased
never saw the tnanscnipt
10 vension that the White House neleased in Septemben. So I nead that
11 tnanscnipt. And at a finst neading it looked substantially accurate
t2 to me.
13 a Okay. As accunate as can be, given youn expenience as a
14 panticipant on Presidential phone calls?
15 A I didn't do a wond-fon-wond companison. I didn't get out
16 my notebook fnom July at that point and look canefully.
L7 When I nead it fon the finst time in Septemben, it genenally
18 matched my necollection fnom the caII, but, again, not looking at it
19 word-fon-wond.
20 a So it's as complete as it can be to the best of youn

2t expenience ?

22 A Yes, not knowing -- not looking canefully at the specific

23 wonds.

24 a Did you even compane youn notes to the tnanscnipt?

25 A More necently I went back to look when I had heand that there

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 was other testimony thnough this pnocess that -- I believe Lieutenant

2 Colone1 Vindman had noticed a couple of small discnepancies.
3 My notes did neflect that the wond Bunisma had come up in the caII,
4 that the President had mentioned Bunisma. I hadn't noticed that when

5 I finst nead the tnanscniPt.

6 Q Which President?
7 A I'm sonrY. Pnesident TnumP.
8 Q OkaY.
9 A But I had not looked that canefully back in Septemben when
10 the tnanscript was first neleased to notice that detail.
Lt a Did you come to leann thnough public neponts on direct
t2 communications with Colonel Vindman his discnepancies?
13 A only through the public neporting of this inquiny pnocess.

1.4 I have not had any convensations with Alex Vindman about this.
15 a And what was to, the best of youn knowledge, what wene his

15 issues?

t7 A I would have to refer to the public recond in terms of what

18 pnecisely he said.
19 a But you said something about Burisma?
zo A I recall that one of the issues he had noted was that the
zL tnanscnipt neleased did not include the wond Bunisma. But on looking
22 back at my notes, I do see that Bunisma was mentioned by name in the
23 call.
24 a Okay. And do you know whethen Colonel Vindman's issue with
2s Bunisma was nelated to something Pnesident Zelensky said on Pnesident

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UNCLASSTFIED

1 Trump said?

2 A I don't know what Colonel Vindman's issue was. When I went

3 back to check my notes, I had wnitten that President Tnump had naised
4 Bunisma. I don't know if that neflects what Colonel Vindman said as
5 weIl.
6 a Do you nememben when duning the caII he mentioned that?
7 A Not pnecisely. I mean, laten on in the ca1l, but I don't
8 know pnecisely when.

9 a Okay. Laten on in the call?

10 A Yes.
11 a Like, do you nememben whene in youn notes it appeans?
12 A I don't have my notes, so I can't neaIly nefen to them night
13 now.

t4 a Have you nefenned to youn notes necently?

15 A Within the last week.
16 a Okay. You have?
77 A Yes.
18 a Okay. But you just don't nememben as you sit hene today

19 whene

20 A I mean, not having it in front of me, not pnecisely whene,

2t no.

22 a Any othen issues with the call that you flagged?

23 A Not that I noticed.
24 a Okay. Wene you awane of any othen issues Colonel Vindman
25 had flagged?

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 A Not pnecisely. Again, I wasn't pnesent fon his testimony,

2 so I don't know exactlY what he --

3 Q Okay. But you nead some news accounts about it?

4 A That's night.
5 Q Okay. Have you been following along in the news as witnesses
5 have been appeaning hene?
7 A I have.
8 Q okay. And which witnesses have you nead news accounts
9 about?

10 A ProbablY all of them.

LL a Okay. Have you been neading the opening statements that

L2 have been some have been neleased?

13 A I have.
L4 a OkaY. ComPletelY?
15 A Probably not all of them, but, yes.
16 a At any point in time between July 25th and the release of
t7 the call tnanscnipt on Septemben 25th, did you have any communications
18 with Vindman about the call?
19 A No.

20 a okay. When the tnanscnipt was made available to the VP's

21, office, do you nememben when that occunned?
22 A My colleagues I can't nememben the pnecise time, but
23 before the end of the day that day my colleagues who help pnepane the
24 Vice pnesident's bniefing book neceived a hand copy of the tnanscnipt
2s fnom the White House Situation Room to include in that book. I didn't

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 pensonally see it, but I undenstood that they had neceived it because

2 we wanted to make sune the Vice Pnesident got it.

3 a 0n the 25th on 26th?
4 A It was on the 25th.
5 a Okay. Was that the final vension? 0n don't you know?
6 A I don't know. I mean, it's the vension that we provided to
7 the Vice Pnesident.
8 a Okay. So that went into his bniefing book?
9 A That's night.
10 a And do you know if he even neviewed the call?
11 A I don't know.
L2 a So nobody told you one way on anothen whethen the Vice
13 Pnesident was able to read it, whethen it be General Kellogg on some
t4 othen VP staffen?
15 A That's right. I just don't know if he nead it.
16 a Do you know how fnequently the VP neads his bniefing book?
t7 A We pnovide him with a daily bniefing book of various updates
18 on foneign policy mattens. I'm not pnesent when he neviews that, so

19 I nealIy -- I'm not in a position to say.

20 a Okay. So you have no idea one way on anothen whethen it's
2t his regulan practice to nead the book on not nead the book?

22 A I'd like to think that he neads the book, but I don't know
23 if he neads them eveny day. We don't nonmally have follow-on
24 convensations with him about it aftenwands.

25 a And was thene any fol1ow-on convensation about the content

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 of the 7 /25 ca}l?

2 A No.
3 a Okay. So he didn't task anybody, such as Manc Short or
4 Genenal Ke1logg, to do anything on get any additional infonmation about
5 the call?
6 A Not to my knowledge. He didn't task me.

7 a Duning the peniod of 7/25 to Septemben 25th, did you have

8 any communications with anybody about the content of the tnanscnipt?
9 A No.

10 a 0n the content of the call?

11 A No.
L2 a Okay. So aften the call occurned, did you talk with Genenal
13 Kellogg about it?
t4 A No. He was in the noom during the call as weIl, so I didn't
15 feel a need to have a convensation with him.
16 a Did you wnite up a memo or anything to anyone else on the
t7 VP staff?
18 A I had included an update in the Vice Pnesident's daily repont
19 that evening fon that same bniefing book, mentioning that the Pnesident
20 had had a call that day with Pnesident Zelensky and kind of pnoviding
2L a bnoad ovenview of the call and noting that the transcnipt was also
22 included in the book.
23 a Do you nememben what else you included in that descniption?
24 A It was veny general. I didn't mention anything specific.
25 I'm trying to nememben if thene was anothen Uknaine update that day.

UNCLASSIFfED
 7L
UNCLASS]FIED

1 Oh, yes, sonry. Coincidentally, the Vice Pnesident's office had

2 neceived a letten fnom Senaton Lankfond expressing the Senaton's

3 suppont fon Uknaine. I believe he had wnitten it on July 18th, but
4 it office on JuIy 25th, so I thought that was
was neceived by oun
5 something that the Vice Pnesident would want to neceive and nead.
6 So the update I included was nefenencing that letter, and then

7 also mentioning that, since it was also Uknaine-nelated: Fon youn

8 awaneness, the Pnesident, President Tnump had also had a call that day

9 with President Zelensky; that call tnanscnipt is included in youn book

10 as welI.
11 a Okay. But you didn't flag anything notewonthy about the
t2 call?
13 A That's night.
L4 a So you had no discussions with anybody fronT /25 to 9/25 about
15 what happened on the call?
16 A No.

17 a So if you had any concenns, you didn't naise them with Genenal
18 Kellogg?

19 A I neven discussed the call with Genenal KeIIogg, and neven

20 specifically nefenenced that call beyond flagging it fon the Vice
2L Pnesident's attention in his book that evening.
22 a Okay. So it wasn't until the call became public that it
23 neemenged on youn nadan of issues to think about?
24 A I think that's fair to say.
25 a Aften the call tnanscnipt was made public, did you have any

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UNCLASSIFlED

L communications with anybody about it, such as Genenal Kellogg?

2 A About the accunacy of the tnanscnipt on just in genenal?

3 a No, just about what happened on the call. Thene's some

4 nenewed focus, obviously --

5 A Sune.

6 a -- once Septemben 25th comes anound.

7 A 0f course. Not specific to the call. I think we aII, in
8 ounoffice, anyway, the Vice Pnesident's office, wene neading the news
9 and, you know, the updates related to that call and concenns about
10 Uknaine. But I don't necall any specific convensation with General
11 Kellogg on othens kind of going back to the oniginal call and what was

72 in it.
13 a By the time Septemben 25th comes anound, everybody is
L4 talking about, you know, Biden and Bunisma and Rudy Giuliani and all
15 that stuff. Did you even cincle back with General Kellogg and sont
15 of nevisit, you know, what wene you thinking when you heand this?
t7 A No, we neven had a folIow-on conversation about the call
18 specifically.
19 a Okay. Wene you sunprised by the attention that those
20 aspects of the call neceived once it became public
2t A No.
22 a in Septemben?
23 A No, I was not sunpnised.
24 a Okay. Did you expect that at some point it would?
25 A Yes.

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UNCLASS]FTED

1 a okay.

2 A Sorny, just to clarify. It's not that I expected that the

3 call would someday become public, but once it was neleased I was not

4 sunpnised that that was a focus.

5 a Okay. The tnip to Wansaw, yoU tnaveled with the Vice
6 Pnesident on that?
7 A Yes, sln.
8 a For that bilatenal meeting the Vice Pnesident had with
9 Pnesident Zelensky?
10 A r did.
LL a You wene on the whole tnip?
12 A Yes.
13 a And what was the date, do you nememben, of the VP's meeting
t4 with Pnesident Zelensky?

15 A Septemben lst.
76 a Okay. And maybe just walk us thnough the chnonology of that
t7 tnip ?

18 A Sure.
19 a To the extent you remember?
20 A Absolutely. I had been working on that trip fon many months

27 up until that point.

22 So we had been oniginally planning fon the Vice Pnesident to
23 tnavel to the U.K., Iceland, and Ineland in eanly September. The date
24 of that was neally hooked to an event that he panticipated in in London

25 nelated to tnade.

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 When Hunnicane Donian was appnoaching the United States,

2 obviously, as I think evenyone hene knows, the Pnesident decided to
3 stay back in tnlashington and asked the Vice pnesident to tnavel to Poland
4 in his place.

5 That tnip was nevolving anound a World War II commemonation event

6 that took place in Warsaw, also on Septemben 1st. And the plans fon
z the pnesident had been also to engage in a numben of bilatenal and

8 multilatenal meetings on the mangins of that.

9 So I hadn't been closety tnacking the plans fon the Pnesident's
10 tnip because we were kind of busy with oun own trip planning, but once
tL we found out on August 29th that the Vice Pnesident would be going,
tz I spoke with my NSC colleagues to get a better undenstanding of what

13 was on the Pnesident's agenda fon the tnip so that we could start
L4 pneparing the Vice Pnesident to take that on. So we walked thnough

15 the range of diffenent engagements planned and then pnoposed fon the
16 VP.

t7 We had to scale it back alittle bit just since we wene basically

18 tacking the Poland component onto oun existing tnip. So we wene tnying

19 to make it as tight as possible. But, obviously, one of the engagements

20 that nemained on the schedule was the meeting with Pnesident Zelensky.
2L a Okay. And what wene the bniefings that occurned fon the Vice
22 Pnesident in advance of the bilatenal meeting with Pnesident Zelensky?
23 A So we had veny limited time, obviously, to pnepane fon the
24 poland component of the tnip. So I nelied heavily on the NSC bniefing
ZS papens that they had alneady pnepaned fon the Pnesident's

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 panticipation, which are not the same fonmat as ouns, but we wene in
2 a pinch so we used those, and r pnepaned sepanate talking points based

3 on that infonmation fon the Vice President. So that kind of compnised

4 his wnitten bniefing materials.

5 a OkaY.

6 A Pnion to leaving, General Kellogg had asked, at the nequest

7 of the Vice Pnesident, fon an update on the status of the security

8 assistance that was at that time still on hold. In that same timefname,

9 thene had been a Politico anticle that had come out neferencing the
10 hold on U.S. secunity assistance to Uknaine, so we anticipated that
L7 Pnesident Zelensky would want an update on that. So that was pant of
L2 the pnepanation pnocess.

13 Once we got on the gnound in Wansaw thene was a pne-bnief meeting

14 just befone the meetlng with Pnesident Zelensky in which Ambassadon
15 Bolton, Genenal Kel1ogg, oun Chief of -- the Vice Pnesident's Chief
16 of Staff, Manc Shont, and myself, and I believe a couple of othen OVP

L7 colleagues bniefed the Vice Pnesident befone meeting Pnesident

18 Ze1ensky.

19 a Okay. So thene was wnitten bniefing matenials that you sent

20 thnough General Kellogg?
2L A That's night, and we added to oun ovenall trip book. Yeah.
22 a Okay. So the VP gets the wnitten matenials, and then thene's
23 a bniefing. And you said -- who was the main speaken duning the
24 bniefing?
25 A In that bniefing, Ambassadon Bolton had just been in Uknaine

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L sevenal days prion and had had a senies of very in-depth engagements,
2 including with Pnesident Zelensky, so he nea1Iy took the lead in that
3 pne-bnief to pnepane the Vice Pnesident fon the meeting.
4 a And do you nememben what Ambassadon Bolton communicated to

5 the VP?

6 A He basically pnovided a nead-out of his meeting. He had had

7 veny positive engagements and had been impnessed by President

8 Zelensky's nefonm agenda in the sense that thein parliamentany pnocess
9 had just stanted. So the election had been held just pneviously, and
10 I think they had just come into session.
7L And one noteworthy item was that the Zelensky administnation

t2 alneady had hundneds of bills to go, and so Ambassadon Bolton

ready

L3 pnovided an ovenview of some of those. And then in tenms of the

L4 secunity assistance, because that Politico stony had just come out
15 2 days pnion, Ambassadon Bolton kind of outlined that, you know, what
16 that secunity assistance was fon and the need -- they agneed on the
t7 need to get a final decision on that secunity assistance as soon as

18 possible so that it could be implemented befone the end of the fiscal

19 yean.

20 a At the time, was the genenal mood that -- the hope was that
27 the secunity assistance would be delivened?
22 A Yes.

23 a And so the idea that the secunity assistance would be

24 penmanently withheld wasn't as much of a senious considenation?

25 A I think I sensed evenyone wanted to avoid that scenanio.

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1 a Okay. And was it youn impnession duning that bniefing that

2 Ambassadon Bolton was genuinely impnessed with the authenticity of
3 Pnesident Zelensky?
4 A I believe so, yes.
5 a That he nan on a nefonm agenda?
6 A Uh-huh. Yes.
7 a And so the conclusion, at least at that point, was he's headed

8 in the night dinection?

9 A Yes.
10 a And he's a genuine nefonmen?
11 A Connect.
t2 a And his anticonnuption initiatives were legitimate?
13 A Yes. I mean, I think that, you know, there's still ongoing
t4 concenn about what kind of limitations Zelensky may face given the
15 ongoing influence of oligarchs in Uknaine. But I think we wene all
16 impnessed by his effonts and wanted to suppont them.
L7 a Okay. And duning that pne-bniefing -- whene did the
18 bniefing occun?

19 A The pne-brief?
20 a Yeah.
2L A It was in a hotel noom, in the hotel whene we wene staying.
22 a So it was in Warsaw?
23 A In Warsaw.
24 a The hotel in Wansaw?
25 A That's night.

TINCLASSIFIED
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UNCLASSIFIED

1 A Was Ambassadon Sondland thene?

2 A Not in that briefing, no. He was on the tnip, but not on

3 that bniefing.
4 a Was he in any othen bniefings with the VP?
5 A I believe he had been in a bniefing eanlien in the day, night
6 aften oun arrival, which was mone of a genenal bniefing, and an
7 intelligence update fon the Vice Pnesident since we had been flying
8 all night.
9 a A11 right.
10 A But I was not in that briefing, so I don't know exactly what
11 was discussed.

L2 a Were you in and anound that bniefing?

13 A I was neanby that bniefing. I had helped to make sune that
14 they got to the noom.

15 a And you saw Ambassadon Sondland enten the bniefing?

16 A Connect.

L7 a Do you know if he was a scheduled panticipant in that

18 bniefing ?

t9 A I believe he nequested to be added to that bniefing. But,

20 frankly, evenything about this tnip was shont notice. So thene wasn't

27 nealty a scheduled --list of panticipants in advance.

on a fonmal
22 a And do you know if he was even, you know, on the official
23 list fon that bniefing?
24 A Again, thene wasn't nealIy a fonmal list fon that particulan
25 pne-bnief, so I can't say one way on the othen whethen he was a scheduled

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L panticipant.
2 a Okay. So thene was an intelligence bniefing with the VP in
3 the monning. You didn't go to that one but Ambassador Sondland did?

4 A Connect.

5 a And you wene neanby, you said?

6 A Yes.

7 a And then the bniefing in advance of the bilatenal meeting

8 occunned laten in the day?

9 A Connect. It occunned aften we -- the delegation -- the Vice
10 Pnesident and the delegation had netunned fnom the Wonld War II
11 commemonation event back to the hotel. And the meeting with Uknaine

t2 was happening just aften that, and so the pne-bnief happened just befone
13 the meetlng with Zelensky.
74 a Okay. Was Ambassadon Sondland in that one?

15 A No.
16 a Okay. And you said Ambassadon Bolton did most of the
t7 talking ?

18 A He did.

19 a Did the call come up, the 7/25 caIL between Pnesident Tnump

20 and Zelensky, come up duning that bniefing?

2t A No, not to my necollection.

22 a So nobody flagged for the VP, "Hey, the Pnesident had a call
23 with Pnesident Zelensky"?
24 A No. No. It neally didn't come up.

25 a Okay.

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t A Yeah. No, it was nea1ly focused on Ambassadon Bolton's much

2 mone necent engagements with President Zelensky that had taken place

3 a couple days prion.

4 a But to the best of your recollection, no one flagged fon the

5 VP that Pnesident Zelensky may be on alent to talk about investigations?

6 A Connect. Thene was no discussion of that whatsoeven.
7 a Okay. In hindsight, does that sunpnise you?
8 A No, not neaIIy. I think the mone immediate concenn was the
9 Politico stony that had just bnoken 2 days pnior about the secunity
10 assistance ho1d. And so I think the group anticipated that that would
11 be finst and fonemost on President Zelensky's mind, and we wanted to

L2 pnepane the VP to be able to nespondto those questions.

13 a Is thene anything else fnom that briefing? Did anybody else

L4 have a speaking nole othen than Ambassadon Bolton?

15 A I added a few points on othen agenda items that might come

16 Up, but not in gneat detail.

17 a Okay. Is thene any othen detail you can nememben at the
18 meeting worth telling us about?
19 A I don't think so. It was pnetty focused on the secunity
20 assistance.
2t a Okay. And then the next event is the bilateral meeting?
22 A Connect.
23 a And can you necollect genenally what the Vice Pnesident
24 communicated to Pnesident Zelensky --
25 A Sure.

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1 a -- duning that meeting?

2 A Yes. So it was a good meeting. So it stanted off, as most
3 of these foneign engagements do, with a pness spnay. So each pnincipal
4 made comments of minutes.
on camena fon a numben
5 Once the camenas left the noom, the veny finst question that

6 Pnesident Zelensky had was about the status of secunity assistance.

7 And the VP nesponded by neaIIy expnessing oun ongoing suppont fon
8 Uknaine, but wanting to hean from Pnesident Zelensky, you know, what

9 the status of his nefonm effonts wene that he could then convey back
10 to the Pnesident, and also wanting to hean if thene was mone that
11 Eunopean countnies could do to suppont Uknaine.
12 a Okay. Did the VP express the President's ovenall outlook
13 on foneign aid?
74 A speclfically. I think in tenms of discussing the nole
Not
15 of Eunopean countnies, I think it was meant to make that point in tenms
16 of the Pnesident's Pnesident Trump's expectations that othen
L] countnies would also step up to pnovide mone suppont. It was more in
18 those tenms.
19 a Sepanate fnom that, are you awane of the Pnesident's view

20 on foreign aid?
2L A Yes.
22 a That he has a skeptical view of fonelgn ald?
23 A I think that's fain to say.
24 a Ane you awane that he's commissioned a review acnoss
25 govennment of all U.S. fonelgn assistance?

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I A I'm awane thene have been a numben of neviews of foneign

2 assistance. I'm not sune of the specific one that you'ne neferencing.
3 a But it's centainly a well-established fact that Pnesident
4 Tnump is extnemely skeptical of U.S. foreign aid?

5 A I think that's fair to saY.

6 a And he wants to make sune U.S. taxpayen dollans ane spent
7 in the night way?
8 A Sune. Correct.
9 a And we'ne getting a good retunn on that investment, connect?
10 A That's what I've heand him expness, yes.
77 a So the Vice Pnesident - - coming back to the meeting, the Vice
t2 Pnesident's meeting with Pnesident Ze1ensky, and he naises the pnospect
13 that the U.S. hopes on at least Pnesident Tnump hopes that oun Eunopean
L4 allies step up and contnibute more?
15 A That's connect. That was part of what the Vice Pnesident

16 conveyed to Pnesident ZelenskY.

77 a And what was Pnesident Zelensky's neaction?

18 A in the sense that I think he

President Zelensky agneed
19 centainly would welcome mone suppont fnom all allies and pantnens.
20 He made the point, though, that as impontant as the funding itself
2L was, that it was the stnategic value of -- the symbolic value of U.S.
22 suppont in tenms of security assistance that was just as valuable to

23 the Uknainians as the actual dollans.

24 a Okay.

25 A He was making the point that, you know, any hold on appeanance

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1 of neconsidenation of such assistance might embolden Russia to think

2 that the United States was no longen committed to Ukraine.
3 a Okay. And what was the Vice Pnesident's reaction to that?
4 A He assuned Pnesident Zelensky that thene was no change in
5 U.S. policy in tenms of oun fuII -- full-thnoated support fon Uknaine
6 and its soveneignty and tennitonial integnity, and assuned that he
7 would convey back to Pnesident Tnump what he had heand fnom President
8 Zelensky in tenms of Zelensky's good pnogness on nefonms, so that
9 hopefully we could get a decision on the security assistance as soon

10 as possible.
11 a So the Vice Pnesident signaled to Pnesident Zelensky that
t2 the nefonm effonts that he had implemented to date wene encounaging?

13 A He did. He didn't make a concnete pnomise on a decision,

t4 but expnessed a positive view of what Pnesident Zelensky had conveyed
15 and pnomised to convey that back to the Pnesident.
16 a Okay. And did he how did he communicate that? Did he

t7 give a specific timeframe or

18 A For a decision?
19 a Fon communicating back with the President?
20 A He told Pnesident Zelensky that he would speak to Pnesident

2t Tnump befone the end of the day.

22 a Okay. So it was a nelatively --

23 A Shont timefname.
24 a Okay. And specific. The VP committed to talk to the
25 Pnesident about this?

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1 A That's right.
2 Q And duning the counse of the meeting thene was no discussion
a of any investigations that the Uknainians wene to do?

4 A No specific investigations, flo.

s Q Okay. Like the 2016 election didn't come up?

6 A It did not.
7 Q CnowdStnike didn't come uP?
8 A No.

9 Q OkaY. Formen VP Biden --

10 A No.
11 a -- didn't come up? The name wasn't uttened?

12 A Not once.
13 A And the name Bunisma neven came up?
74 A No.

15 a And you wenen't surpnised by that?

t6 A No, I wasn't expecting those specific issues to necessanily

t7 come up.

18 a And Ambassadon Sondland, he was in that meeting?

L9 A He was.

20 a To the extent you can rememben, who wene the othen U.S.
27 officials staffing the VP at the bilatenal meeting?
22 A It was a big meeting, so fongive me if I miss a name on two.
23 But, obviously, the Vice Pnesident was the lead. We had Secnetany
24 Penny. We had Ambassadon Sondland. Tim Monnison.

2s I believe we also had Wells Gniffith, who is the Enengy Senion

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I Dinecton fon NSC;

2 ; myself. We had

3
I.
4 I pnobably am missing a name on two. Fongive me.

5 a Was Ambassadon Volken thene?

6 A I'm tnying to necall.
7 Pnobably. I apologize, I just neally don't nemember. It was

8 what we call a six plus six. So thene wene six fnont-benchers and six
9 back-benchers on each side. But I just don't necaIl.
10 0h, sonny, Ambassadon Bolton was there. He had to }eave pantway
LI thnough the meeting to catch his flight, but he was thene fon at least
L2 pant of the discussion.
13 a And aften the meeting ended, wene you awane of any of
74 Gondon's -- Ambassador Gondon Sondland, any of his activities with the
15 Uknainians ?

16 A I wasn't awane, no.

77 a Okay. It's been neponted, and you may have nead this in some
18 of the news accounts, that he confenred with some of Pnesident
19 Zelensky -- at least one of Pnesident Zelensky's aides?
20 A I've read that, but I wasn't aware at the time.
2L a Okay. So you didn't witness Ambassadon Sondland puII aside
22 any Uknainians?
23 A I did not, no.
24 a And did that fact come to light on come to youn attention

25 duning the tnip?

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L A No, not until the more necent press neports of that.

2 After the Zelensky meeting, the Vice Pnesident went on with his
3 schedule. We had an evening dinnen event that evening. And kind of

4 the Uknaine component of oun tnip concluded and we moved on to the nest
5 of oun itinenany.
6 a Okay. So you left with the VP's delegation?
7 A That's night. So the next day we had bilatenal engagements

8 with the Govennment of Poland, with the President, with Pnesident Duda,

9 and sevenal othen events, a quick engagement with the Pnime Ministen
10 of Poland, and then flew to Ireland, I believe.
onward

11 a Okay. Did anyone nelate to you -- I think you said the answen
12 is no, but I'1I just double back -- no one nelated to you that Sondland
13 had a communication with Yenmak?

74 A No. Not -- no.

15 a So you neven talked about that with Colonel Vindman

16 A No.

77 a -- on Tim Monnison?
18 A No.

79 a Did Monnison stay fon the whole meeting on did he leave with
20 Ambassadon Bolton?

27 A He stayed, because he also joined us fon the Poland

22 engagements the next day.

23 a Okay. At this point in time -- and you've seen the news

24 accounts about whethen thene wene any conditionality fon White House
25 meetings -- did that topic come up at all? Wene you awane that

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1 Ambassadon Sondland was pnessing this?

2 A In tenms of scheduling a White House meeting?
3 a Right, some of this conditionality with --
4 A I wasn't awane of Ambassadon Sondland's panticular role in
5 that. I was aware that President Zelensky was veny eagen to get a
6 scheduled meeting at the White House. And we expected actually that
7 Zelensky may naise that with the Vice Pnesident in his meeting as well.
8 But I wasn't awane of any, Iike, discussions behind the scenes, so to
9 speak, of scheduling that meeting.
10 a Did you know Ambassadon Volken had been wonking with Mn.

11 Yenmak?

L2 A I was not awane, oo.

13 a Okay. So at the time you had no awaneness that thene was
t4 this concept of the Uknainians looking into the 2016 election on opening

15 up any othen sont of investigation?

16 A The only reference I had heand to that was on the JuIy 25th
17 call.
18 a Okay.

19 At any point duning this tnip, you know, you went on to meet -- the
20 Vice Pnesident went on to meet with, I think you said
27 A Poland and, like, the rest of the tnip?
22 a Right. Went on -- did he tnavel to Poland on was the
23 meeting --
24 A WelI, we stayed in Poland an extna day to do the Polish
25 engagements and then flew onwand to Ineland, Iceland, and the U.K.

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t a So you met with the Pnime Ministen of Poland?

2 A We did. It was a bilatenal meeting with the Pnesident of
3 Poland and then a bnief meeting with the Pnime Ministen to sign an MOU
4 on 5G, and then we flew onwand to Ineland.
5 a In the meeting with Pnesident Duda, did anything come up with
6 about Biden on Bunisma?
7 A No.

8 a Thene was a press availability, I think, between the VP and

9 Duda.

10 A That's night.
L1 a Do you nememben whethen anything came up during that pness

72 availability?
13 A Yes. One of the U.S. repontens, I can't nememben which one,

L4 I believe asked the Vice President about that issue, I believe, whethen
15 it had come up in the Uknaine meeting the day before, since it was the
16 Vice Pnesident's finst pness engagement since the Zelensky meeting.
L7 a So this is on Septemben 2nd?
18 A Cornect.

19 a A reponter asked the Vice Pnesident whethen -- what exactly

20 had come up?

21 A My necollection is that the U.S. neporten asked the

22 Pnesident -- sonny, the Vice Pnesident -- whethen the issue of fonmen

23 Vice Pnesident Biden on Bunisma had come up in his meeting with

24 Pnesident Zelensky the day befone.
25 a And what was Vice Pnesident Pence's neaction to that?

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 A He said no.
2 a Okay. Was he sunpnised that it was raised?
3 A I don't know. I don't know if he was sunpnised by it. But
4 it hadn't come up, so it was easy fon him --
5 a It was easy fon him to say no?
6 A Yes.
7 a Okay. Duning this time peniod, in discussions with the NSC
8 staff, whethen Colone1 Vindman on Tim Monnison, had you had any
9 discussions with them about Biden, Bunisma, 2016 investigations?
10 A No.
LL a Okay. Had you had any discussions with NSC staff at this
L2 point about the nole of Ambassadon Sondland on Rudy Giuliani?
13 A No. We had neven had discussions about that. The only
L4 instance in which Ambassador Sondland's name came up was when the Vice
15 Pnesident assumed the nole of the Pnesident in the tnip to Poland and
16 I leanned that Ambassadon Sondland was scheduled to be pant of the
L7 delegatlon. That was it.
18 a You told us eanlien that you did have one convensation with
19 Dn. Fiona HilI that involved Giuliani?
20 A Much eanlier on, in May, with negands to Ambassadon

2t Yovanovitch' s nemovaL.
22 a Fnom that point forwand had you had any other convensations
23 about the Giuliani component nelating to Uknaine

24 A No.
25 a -- with anyone?
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I A No. I'm tnying to think if thene was even any specific press

2 neponting kind of mone in the July-August timefname. I don't neca11

3 any nelated to Giuliani's nole in Uknaine. But we neven -- I neven

4 had any intennal convensations about his nole.

5 a Okay. And through this whole pnocess, have you had any
6 discussions with Tim Monnison about Giuliani's nole or the concept of
7 these investigations?
8 A No.

9 a How about with Colonel Vindman?

10 A No.

11 a The security assistance ho1d, you mentioned you finst

12 leanned about that on July 3nd?
13 A That's night.
74 a So that was about 2 weeks befone the JuIy 18th sub-PCC
15 meeting ?

15 A Connect.

t7 a And was the hold at that point on July 3nd known outside of
18 the complex? The complex meaning the EEOB?

19 A Sune, the EEOB.

20 Yes, in the sense that the nepont that I had seen was the State

2t Depantment neponting to NSC that OMB had told them about the hold. So
22 at least OMB and State knew about lt.
23 a Okay. And then did anything happen between that email

24 exchange that you told us about and the July 18th sub-PCC meeting?
25 A Not that I saw. I don't know if othen agencies or

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t individuals had funthen discussions about the status of the assistance.

2 a And wene you involved with the luly 18th meeting?
3 A I did not attend that meeting because I was on pne-advance
4 tnavel fon the Vice Pnesident's tnip that week. So my finst meeting
5 that I attended on that issue was the following week, the luly 23rd
6 PCC.

7 a Okay. And did you get a nead-out of the July L8th meeting?
8 A r did.
9 a What do you necaIl about the secunity assistance hold?
10 A I nead the summany of conclusions fnom that meeting that NSC
\L had pnepaned, and it discussed the fact that the intenagency was made

72 awane, fon those who wenen't alneady awane, of the hold on the secunity
13 assistance. And State and DOD and othen agencies expnessed suppont
74 fon lifting that hold as soon as possible and that the reason behind
15 the hold was because OMB was conducting a funthen neview.
16 a Okay. And then the next event was the PCC?

17 A Connect.

18 a And what date was that again?

19 A July 23nd.

20 a Okay. And you attended that meeting?

2L A r did.
22 a And what do you nememben fnom that meeting about the hold?

23 A It was a veny similan discussion. Essentially, it was just

24 onelevel up, at the assistant secnetary }evel, all the agencies
25 supponting -- expnessing thein suppont fon lifting the hold. And the

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1 OMB repnesentative conveyed that they had been dinected by the Chief
2 of Staff, the White House Chief of Staff, to continue holding it until
3 funther notice.
4 a And was the hope generally at that point that the assistance
5 would be neleased?
6 A Yes.

7 a And did you panticipate in any other meetings

8 A r did.
9 a -- with negard to the secunity assistance?
10 A Yes. The next meeting was a Deputies Committee meeting on

tt July 26th, so 3 days laten.

12 a Okay.
13 A And, again, it was a veny similan discusslon with all
1.4 agencies, deputy secnetanies expnessing suppont, and OMB expnessing
15 that the hold would continue until funther notice.
16 A Okay. Was thene any discussion that with the new Uknainian
L7 Govennment, with the new -- President Zelensky and the new Rada, whethen

18 that was pant of the hold?

19 A It was not discussed in those tenms. OMB neven -- did not

20 provide a detailed explanation fon the reason behind the hold.

2t a Okay. And anything else notable about the 7/26 Deputies
22 meeting?

23 A I guess I would just say this whole pnocess of meetings was

24 meant to kind of do the due diligence of wonking the issue up the chain,
25 the policy chain, in onden to pnompt the scheduling of a Pnincipals

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1 Committee meeting at which Cabinet-level secnetanies would pnovide

2 guidance on whethen to lift the hold.
3 a Okay. So aften theT/26 meeting, what was the next scheduled
4 meeting?

5 A My undenstanding was NSC colleagues wene looking to schedule

6 a Pnincipals Committee meeting, but it was neven scheduled.

7 a So the 7/26 meeting, to the best of youn knowledge, is the

8 last one?
9 A Connect.

10 a And what can you tell us between JuIy 26th and

11 Septemben L1-th, when the aid was neleased? Did you come into any
T2 finsthand facts?
13 A Behind the hold and what the status was?

74 a yes.

15 A Not specifically. Because thene was no Principals

16 Committee meeting scheduled duning that timefname, it wasn't high on

t7 my nadan, othen than the fact that it continued to be held.

18 And then towards the end of August once the Vice Pnesident
19 inhenited the tnip to Poland and we knew he'd be meeting with Pnesident
20 Zelensky, he nequested infonmation about the status of the hold so we

2t could pnepane fon those meetings. So I pnovided an update to Genenal

22 Ke1logg, who passed that to the VP.

23 a And do you rememben when the news of the hold became public?
24 A I believe it was August 29th on 30th
25 a Thnough the Politico stony?
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1 A Right.
2 a of anything in panticular that happened
And ane you aware

3 once you got back fnom the Wansaw tnip, between that date and
4 Septemben 11th? Do you know if the Pnincipals Committee even

5 convened ?

6 A I don't believe that thene was even a Principals Committee

7 convened. My undenstanding is that the Vice Pnesident had spoken with

8 the Pnesident dinectly aften his meeting with Pnesident Zelensky on

9 Septemben lst, but I wasn't pnivy to that convensation, so I don't know

10 exactly what was discussed and whether they had a funthen convensation
11 about it upon the Vice Pnesident's netunn after his tnip.
L2 a Did you get a read-out of that call?
t3 A I did not.
74 a So between July 26th and Septemben 11th thene wene no
15 meetings on communications that you were a pant of?

16 A I necall that -- I believe right before we left on the tnip

17 on, I guess it was August 30th, the Fniday, that I learned through oun
18 Chief of Staff that thene had been a small gnoup discussion, not a fonmal
t9 meeting, I believe involving Dn. Kuppenman and Manc Shont, oun Chief
20 of Staff, and I don't know who the othens wene, nelated to the status
21 of Ukraine security assistance, but I was not present fon that meeting.
22 a Okay. And anything you know about what happened up to
23 Septemben 11th fnom September 1st?
24 A I will say that also in the lead-up to oun tnip, to the Vice
25 Pnesident's tnip to Poland, Senaton lohnson had neached out to tny to

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1 speak with the Vice Pnesident because he was also tnaveling to Uknaine
2 shontly aften. I don't believe that call even connected, but I believe
3 he also wanted to discuss the status of secunity assistance. But othen
4 than that, I'm not awane of any fonmal meetings on othen discussions
5 that took pIace.

6 a Okay. Do you nememben when Senaton lohnson's tnip was,

7 noughly?

8 A It was a few days aften the Vice Pnesident saw Zelensky in

9 Po1and, so I want to say it was pnobably Septemben 3nd on 4th, something

10 ]ike that.
LL a And who else was on that trip? Any othen Senatons?
12 A I believe so, but I honestly don't nememben. We wene on our
13 tnip in othen pants of Eunope, so I wasn't tnacking it closely at that
L4 point.
15 a Okay. And do you know if the Senatons had a view on the aid?
16 A My undenstanding was that they wene suppontive of getting
L7 the hold neleased as soon as possible.
18 a And do you know if any othen Senatons had weighed in at this
19 point ?

20 A I understood that Senaton Pontman aLso was intenested in the

2t status of the secunity assistance, and that anound the time -- f'm not
22 sune the precise day, I want to say Septemben 9th, 9th on 10th -- that
23 Members of Congness had opened an inquiny, possibly two inquinies, into
24 the status of the secunity assistance and to tny to find the neason

25 fon the hold.

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7 a Okay. Any othen Senators that you haven't identified?

2 A Not to my knowledge. There pnobably were, but not that I
3 was awane of.
4 a Okay. How did you know about Senaton Pontman's interest?
5 A I had seen pness neponting that he was interested in the
6 status of the hold.
7 a Do you know if any Senatons contacted the Vice Pnesident?
8 A Othen than back in July, Senaton Lankford wniting a letter,
9 and Senaton lohnson neaching out anound the time of oun tnip to Poland,
10 I'm not awane of any othen Senators neaching out dinectly to the Vice
11 President.
T2 a Since youn -- have you had any discussions with any of the
13 folks that have been befone us, you know, befone or aften thein
1.4 appeanance hene, about the content of what the committees ane looking
15 lnto ?

16 A Not about the content of these discussions, these

t7 testimonies, no.

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L [11:35 a.m.]
2 BY MR. CASTOR:

3 a Okay. Outside youn lawyens, like who have you discussed

4 youn testimony with?

5 A No one.
6 a Okay. When was the last time you spoke with Tim Monnison?
7 A That's a good question. I'm tnying to nemember when he
8 appeaned. Last week, night?
9 a He was here on Halloween?
10 A Convenient.
11 a I nememben that.
t2 A Okay. Befone then. I -- honestly, I don't necall
13 pnecisely. I mean, I would see him on a fainly negulan basis fon
t4 meetings.
15 a Okay. But you haven't spoken with
16 A No.
t7 a -- Mn. Monnison --
18 A No, not since then.
19 a since Halloween?
20 A No. Yeah.
2L a When is the last time you spoke with Colonel Vindman?
22 A I saw him in the hallway yestenday. I had a meeting with
23 him on last Fniday, r believe, wlth an" I Ambassadon to the

24 United States, since he has a lange -- oun pontfolios ovenlap. And

25 so we panticipated in a meeting togethen with the I Ambassadon.

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I A Okay. And what do you nememben ColoneI Vindman telling you

2 at that meeting on befone the meeting, after the meeting?
3 A About?

4 a About anything.
5 A We11, that meeting, obviously, we wene focusing on oun U.S.
6 policy - -

7 a Right.
8 A -- towandt l and looking at what next steps might be

9 and the nefonms in the I Govennment towards becoming a stnongen

10 democnacy. So it was veny focused on that.

77 a Did Colonel Vindman tell you anything about his testimony?
72 A He did not, no.
13 a Okay. Did he tell you that he mentioned your name duning
L4 his testimony?
15 A He told me that he had been asked, but we did not discuss
16 the testimony beyond that.
77 a Okay. So what exactly did he tell you?
18 A He said that he had been asked who was on the call and that
19 my name was mentioned, but that was it.

20 a Okay. And he affirmatively bnought that up to you?

2L A Yes.
22 a Was that in the context of -- like what was that in the
23 context of?
24 A I think he just wanted me to be awane that my name had been
25 introduced. That was it. We didn't discuss the testimony beyond

TINCLASSIFIED
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1 that.
2 a Okay. At that point, did he know that you wene scheduled
3 to come in?

4 A I don't believe so. I don't know that any of us wene

No,
5 awane of who was going to be pant of this pnocess.

6 a Okay. So as of last Fniday, you didn't know that you wene

7 coming in today?

8 A As of last I got called by the committee last Fniday

9 evening, so not befone then.

10 a That was the first time? Being in the minority --
LL A Sune.
L2 a -- we'ne not pant of the scheduling pnocess
13 A Not befone then, no.
t4 a among other pnocesses.

15 A Noted.

16 a So you found out on Fniday night that the committee had an

L7 intenest in speaking with you?

18 A Connect.

19 a Okay. And when you saw CoIoneI vindman at the I

20 meeting, that was the finst time you'd talked to him since he had
2L testified ?

22 A I believe so, yes. Yeah.

23 a Okay. And he mentioned to you that he had identified - - he'd
24 been asked and identified youn name as being on the caII?
25 A Connect.

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1 Q And did he say anything else to you, on is that --

2 A No, we didn't talk about it funther. I was advised not to.
3 Q Okay. Did he give you any recommendations, Iike you should
4 get a lawyen, anYthing of that sont?

5 A I had already netained counsel well before then, so --

6 Q Okay. Because you had an expectation the committees might
7 be intenested in youn testimonY?

8 A I netained counsel in eanly Octoben thinking that it may come

9 up at some Point.
10 a And I'm not tnying to get into any --
11 A No, undenstood.
72 a -- attonney-client privilege matters. That's not what
13 we're seeking hene.
L4 A No. It was well befone then.
15 MR. CASToR: Okay. Befone oun time is almost uP, I want to make
16 sune -- anything?

L7 MR. MEADOWS: Ms. talilliams, I want to say thank you fon your

18 senvice. Yeah, these ane tnying times, and it's not fun fon anybody

19 to come hene, even us. And so --

20 MS. I^JILLIAVIS: It's a long pnocess.

zt MR. MEADOWS: And so I want to thank you fon youn senvice. I want
22 to clanify two things: I believe you said that it was actually on the
23 pnesident's schedule to go to Warsaw, and that was canceled, and the
24 Vice Pnesident took his p1ace. Is that connect?

25 MS. WILLIAVIS: That ' s conrect.

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1 MR. MEADOWS: And then in all of youn prep fon the Vice Pnesident,
2 it sounds like you'ne a pretty thonough individual when it comes to
3 pnepping people. Is that conrect?

4 MS. WILLIAvIS: I do my best, sin.

5 MR. MEADOWS: A11 night. So in all of youn PreP, as it relates
6 to the aid, the Uknainian aid that this whole impeachment process seems

7 to fold into, the aid and seven wonds on a phone tnanscnipt that we'ne

8 now spending unbellevable time and effont, but in any of that, was there
9 even any bniefing with the Vice Pnesident that says, by the way, you
10 know, you need to bning up these investigations, on you need to be

11 cautious about the investigations, one way on the othen?

t2 MS. WILLIAIVIS: No, not At A]1.
13 MR. MEADOWS: And so as someone who's advising the Vice Pnesident
L4 of the United States, would it be fain to say that investigations into
15 any 20L6, Bunisma, Biden, was not a considenation that was a top

16 pnionity for the Vice Pnesident of the United States as you pnepped

t7 him fon his meeting with Pnesident Zelensky?

18 MS. WILLIAMS: That,s connect.
19 MR. MEADOWS: And so, as we go even furthen, in tenms of the
20 neadouts and, in tenms is, due-outs,
of what I think youn nomenclatune
2L thene was no due-out that would suggest that thene had to be any
22 conditionality to neleasing the aid, othen than what Ambassadon Bo1ton
23 bnought up in tenms of real aggnessive anticonnuption measunes that
24 I guess happenedin late August. Is that connect?
25 MS. WILLIAMS: I guess I would say, I did not knowthe motivation

UNCLASSIFIED
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1 behind the hold in the finst p1ace.

2 MR. MEADOWS: Right.

3 MS. WILLIAvIS: So I was not aware of any conditionality on what

4 the neason fon the hold was, and what that might be dependent on. It's
5 only laten on thnough this pnocess that I undenstand there wene othen

6 conversations happening outside of what we would considen to be

7 official diplomatic channels.

8 MR. MEADOWS: And you've learned that thnough --
9 MS. WILLIAvIS: Pness neponting.

10 MR. MEADOWS: -- open-sounce pness neponting?

11 MS. WILLIAVIS: CONNCCI.

t2 MR. MEADOWS: So evenything that you know about any nefarious

13 punpose actually came thnough pness reponts, no official channels?

L4 MS. WILLIAvIS: That's cornect, and we had no undenstanding of

15 what the actual neason fon the hold was.
16 MR. MEADOWS: Okay. And so, Ambassadon Bo1ton, the end of
L7 August, says, Listen, I had a gneat meeting with Pnesident Zelensky.
18 I think it's been descnibed to us they wene up alI night passing these

19 anticonruption measures. Is that accunate?

20 MS. t^JILLIAIvIS: That is what he conveyed to the Vice Pnesident in
27 the pne-bnief, connect.
22 MR. MEADOWS: And so a veny positive message fnom Ambassadon

23 Bolton. Then the Vice Pnesident of the United States has a veny

24 positive meeting with Pnesident Zelensky whene they talk about thein
25 mutual nespect and desine to wonk togethen. Is that connect?

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1 MS . WI LLIA\4S : That ' s conrect .

2 MR. MEADOWS: So a positive meeting, a positive meeting, a phone

3 ca11, and then intenvention fnom at least one on two Senatons, I guess
4 Senaton Johnson and Senaton Pontman. Is that connect?
5 MS. WILLIAVIS: I was not involved --
6 MR. MEADOWS: And Lankfond, Senator Lankfond, I guess, thnee
7 diffenent
8 MS. WILLIAvIS: I was awane that those Senatons had expressed

9 intenest in the issue. I wasn't pnivy to what those discussions were.

10 MR. MEADOWS: And so, in tenms of a due-out, would you -- is it

L7 youn belief, youn swonn testimony hene today, that your belief was that
L2 Vice President Pence would give a favorable necommendation to the
13 Pnesident of the United States to nelease the aid and move fonwand?
L4 MS. t^JILLIAVIS: YCS.

15 MR. MEADOWS: I thank you. I yield back.

16 MS. WILLIAVIS: Thank you, sin.

17 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. Why don't we take oun lunch break now and

18 nesume at t2:3O. We ane in recess.

19 I Recess. ]

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 L04
UNCLASSIFIED

I It2:35 p.m. l
2 THE CHAIRIvIAN: Okay. Let's go back on the necord.
3 Ms. Wi11iams, I just had a couple followup questions befone I give
4 it back to Mn. Noble on Mn. Goldman. In nesponse to some of the
5 questions fnom minonity counsel, you descnibed the efforts made to
5 advance a potential Vice Pnesidential visit to the inaugunation, the
7 effont to see if nooms wene available and the like?
8 MS . WI L LIAVIS : Uh - . Yes, sin .
huh

9 THE CHAIRMAN: I take it once the message was passed down that
10 the Pnesident did not want the Vice President to attend, ohy further
11 effont to make those annangements also came to an end?
t2 MS. WILLIAVIS: That ' s connect.
13 THE CHAIRIvIAN: The Vice Pnesident wasn't going to countenmand the
14 Pnesident and go even though the Pnesident didn't want him to?
15 MS. WILLIAMS: I can't speak fon the Vice Pnesident, but I was

L6 instnucted to stop the trip planning at that point.

L7 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. And you neven leanned the neason fon the

18 Pnesident's change of mind on the Vice Pnesident's attending the

19 inaugunatlon ?

20 MS. WILLIAVIS: No, sin.

2t THE CHAIRMAN: This is no slun on the Secretary of Enengy, but

22 I think you said one of the noles of the Vice Pnesident is to attend
23 high-Ieve1 meetings that the Pnesident cannot attend?
24 MS. WILLIAVIS: Yes, sir.

25 THE CHAIRIvIAN: And that's viewed with a centain status by foneign

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L govennments having a Vice Pnesidential visit, not as good as the

2 Pnesident but maybe numben two?
3 MS. WILLIAMS: I believe so.
4 THE CHAIRMAN: And the decision to send the Vice Pnesident
5 somewhene would be viewed in Uknaine as a signal of U.S. suppont fon

6 this new Pnesident, his inaugunation?

7 MS . WI LLIAvIS : That ' s night .

8 THE CHAIRMAN: Now, I think you mentioned -- and this is along

9 similan lines, that one of the points that Pnesident Zelensky made in
10 Warsaw is it's not just getting militany assistance that's impontant,
LL it's the fact that it's coming fnom the United States that's also
t2 impontant. Is that night?
13 MS . WI LLIAVIS : That ' s correct .

74 THE CHAIRMAN: And that's lmpontant, both in tenms of assuning

15 Uknainians that the United States has its back, but also in detenning
16 Russian aggnession, is it not?
77 MS. WILLIAVIS: Yes.

18 THE CHAIRIvIAN: And the same might be said for the status of a

19 Pnesidential on Vice Presidential visit to an inaugunation?

20 MS. WILLIAVIS: Connect.

2L THE CHAIRMAN: Now, I think you said

at the meeting in Wansaw,

22 it was a big meeting. It was a six-plus-six. Is that night?

23 MS . WI LLIAIvIS: That ' s night .

24 THE CHAIRMAN: And that means that thene wene essentially six

25 U.S. pnincipals and six staff people behind them?

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1 MS. WILLIAvIS: Connect, and then the two pnincipals in the front
2 of the room, so Pnesident Zelensky and the Vice President.
3 THE CHAIRIvIAN: I see. And then on the Ukrainian side of the
4 table, they would have thein own six-plus-six?
5 MS. WILLIAVIS: Correct.

6 THE CHAIRIvIAN: So thene would be essentially around two dozen

7 people at that meeting?

8 MS. WILLIAVIS: That ,

s right .
9 THE CHAIRMAN: And so in this meeting with two dozen people, the

10 Vice Pnesident did not bning up what the Pnesident said on the July 25

TL phone call in tenms of the Pnesident's desine fon investigations of

L2 the Bidens, Bunisma, or 2OL6?

13 MS. WILLIAMS: Connect, he did not naise that.

74 THE CHAIRMAN: Now, you've seen, I'm sune, a pness nepont about
15 what Ambassador Sondland said happened just aften that meeting. Have

L6 you not?
L7 MS. WILLIAVIS: I've seen the pness neponts, yes.
18 THE CHAIRIvIAN: And if Ambassador Sondland's new affidavit is
19 accurate and he spoke with Mn. Yenmak immediately theneaften, stil1
20 at the same meeting, but in a pu1I-aside, and conveyed that militany
21 assistance was tied to doing these investigations, that would have an

22 influence on how Uknaine would penceive what the Vice Pnesident meant

23 when he was talking about connuption. Would it not?

24 MS. WILLIAVIS: I would imagine that they would take that

25 convensation into account, but obviously, I can't speak fon the

UNCLASSIFIED
 L07
UNCLASSIFIED

t Uknainians on how they would intenpnet that.

2 THE CHAIRMAN: But you would centainly expect that a top adviser
3 to President Zelensky, who sat in on the Vice Pnesidential meeting,

4 would veny quickly convey to Pnesident Zelensky what he had heand in

5 the pnivate discussion with Ambassadon Sondland immediately

6 theneaften?
7 MS. WILLIAvIS: I would imagine so.
8 THE CHAIRMAN: Now, I think you said that, in anticipation fon

9 the Vice Pnesident's calI to congnatulate Pnesident Zelensky on his

10 inaugunation, which followed Pnesident Trump's caII, that you included
1.1 the caII recond of Pnesident Tnump's caII for the Vice President?

L2 MS. WILLIA\4S: That's connect.

13 THE CHAIRMAN: And I think you said that aften the July 25 call
t4 between Pnesident Trump and Pnesident Zelensky you also included that
15 call necond in the Vice Pnesident's daily bniefing book?
16 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes, in his daily briefing book that same day, on

t7 July 25.

18 THE CHAIRIT{AN: And we heard othen testimony that the Vice

19 Pnesident was quite diligent in neading his Pnesidential -- on Vice
20 Pnesidential daily bniefing books. Was that youn expenience as well?

27 MS. WILLIAVIS: He receives them eveny evening, so I have to admit,

22 I've neven pensonally witnessed his pnocess of neading them. I pnesume

23 he does, but I can't confirm if he neads every item eveny day.

24 THE CHAIRMAN: But in youn convensations with the Vice Pnesident

25 following up on the bniefing materials that you give him, does he seem

UNCLASSIFIED
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L familian with what you had bniefed him in wniting?

2 MS. WILLIAIvIS: Genenally, but I don't see him on a daily basis,
3 so it's hand fon me to be veny pnecise in terms of what items he will
4 have read each night.
5 THE CHAIRIvIAN: We1I, even though you don't see him on a daily
6 basis, on the opportunities you do see him and you discuss things that
7 you briefed him about in wniting, he seems familian with what you
8 pnovided him, does he not?
9 MS. WILLIAIVIS: Yes, siN.

10 THE CHAIRMAN: And in the briefing,book pnion to his visit with

77 Pnesident Zelensky in Wansaw, would the July 25 call necond have been

72 in that bniefing book as well?

13 MS. WILLIAvIS: I don't believe it was. We don't normally include
L4 call tnanscripts in tnip bniefing books.
15 THE CHAIRMAN: So his familianity with the call would have been

16 around the time it occurned fnom the oniginal briefing book?

L7 MS. WILLIAVIS: That would have been the only oppontunity that I'm
18 awane of that he would have had that tnanscnipt.
19 THE CHAIRMAN: Now, I think you testified that Senaton lohnson

20 was tnying to neach the Vice Pnesident. About when did -- when was

21 that effont made?

22 MS. WILLIAvIS: I neceived an email fnom my Vice President's

23 office colleague who covens legislative affains connecting me with one
24 of Senator lohnson's staff membens just before we left fon Wansaw, I
25 believe it was August 3O, on that Fniday, and we depanted that Satunday.

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1 It may have even been that Satunday, either August 30th on 31st.
2 THE CHAIRMAN: So August 30th on 31st was when Senaton lohnson
3 was tnying to neach the Vice Pnesident?
4 MS. WILLIAMS: My undenstanding fnom Senaton Johnson's staff was

5 that the Senaton was looking to have a phone call with the Vice
6 Pnesident, eithen befone the Vice Pnesident went to Wansaw to talk about
7 Uknaine on, if that wasn't possible, possibly night aften the Vice
8 Pnesident had met with Zelensky that Sunday because Senaton lohnson

9 was tnaveling out to Kyiv the following week. And so, it would be an

10 oppontunity fon them to compane notes and fon the Vice Pnesident to
lt convey what he had heand fnom Zelensky before Senaton Johnson saw

72 Zelensky.
13 THE CHAIRMAN: Ane you familian with The WaIl Street Journal
L4 anticle, dated Octoben 4, in which Senaton lohnson told The WaII Stneet

15 lournal that Ambassadon Sondland had descnibed to him a quid pro quo

16 involving a commitment by Kyiv to pnobe mattens nelated to U. S.

t7 elections and the status of neanly $400 million in U.5. aid to Uknaine
18 that the Pnesident had ondened to be held up in July? Ane you familian
19 with that anticle?
20 MS. WILLIAVIS: I'm not, no. No, sin.
2t THE CHAIRMAN: The anticle indicates that the Senaton was told
22 this by Ambassadon Sondland in August. Do you know whethen this was

23 the subject which Senator Johnson sought to discuss with the Vice
24 Pnesident ?

25 MS. WILLIAVIS: I don't know specifically. What I undenstood

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1 fnom Senaton lohnson's staff memben was that the Senaton wanted to
2 discuss the status of secunity assistance, so I took that to mean the
3 status of the hold. But I didn't know what -- any more detail than
4 that.
5 THE CHAIRIVIAN : A11 night . Mn. Noble .

5 BY MR. NOBLE:

7 a Thank you, Mn. Chainman.

8 You testified eanlien that you finst leanned that thene had been
9 a hold placed on the Uknaine assistance on July 3 in the email from
10 Colonel Vindman. Is that night?
tl A That's cornect.
72 a And then on July 9 you had the meeting in General Kellogg's
13 office with the Uknainian National Secunity Advison Danylyuk?

t4 A Connect.

15 a So, at that point, you were aware that thene had been this
15 freeze placed on the Uknainian assistance. Is that night?
L7 A At that point?
18 a Yes, as of July 9.
19 A I had seen -- connect. I mean, I had seen the update that
20 OMB had decided on had conveyed to the State Department that they were
2t not cleaning these panticulan congnessional notifications. I don't
22 believe it was clear, even as of July 9, what exactly was behind that
23 in tenms of was this a, you know, long-tenm hold on what was the
24 motivation behind it. But I was awane that thene was a pnoblem with
25 clearing the assistance, yes.

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t THE CHAIRIvIAN: And I apologize, Counsel. Thene wene a couple

2 othen questions I'd forgotten I wanted to ask just to follow up on the
3 questioning by minonity counsel.
4 I take it fnom what you said eanlien that in terms of Ambassadon
5 Sondland's convensation with Mn. Yenmak on the sidelines of the Wansaw

6 meeting between Pnesident Zelensky and Vice Pnesident Pence, that you

7 wene out of the loop on any discussion Ambassadon Sondland had about

8 the conditioning militany aid on the investigations that wene descnibed

9 pneviously by the Pnesident in the July 25 call?

10 MS. WILLIAMS: Connect. I was not present at that meeting, and

11 I was not awane that it had taken place.

t2 THE CHAIRMAN: And wene you -- and so you had the -- you may have

13 seen this descnibed in vanious ways, aS an official tnack and an

L4 innegulan tnack. You were in the official track hearing the official
15 message fnom the Vice Pnesident of what the United States wanted Uknaine
16 to do. Is that night?
t7 MS. WILLIAVIS: Correct .

18 THE CHAIRMAN: But in terms of the unofficial tnack nepnesented

19 by that conversation on the sideline between Ambassadon Sondland and

20 Mn. Yenmak, you wene not pant of that innegulan tnack?

27 MS. WILLIAvIS: No, sin.

22 THE CHAIRMAN: And in tenms of effonts by those in that irnegulan

23 tnack to get Pnesident Zelensky to commit to the investigations the

24 Pnesident descnibed in that July 25 phone ca11, you wene not pnivy to
25 those convensations eithen, not part of that tnack?

UNCLASSIFIED
 712
UNCLASSIFIED

1 MS. WILLIAVIS: No, sin.

2 THE CHAIRMAN: So effonts to get Ambassador -- well, efforts to

3 get Pnesident Zelensky to make a public commitment to punsue these two
4 investigations into the Bidens and Burisma and this debunked conspinacy

5 theony about 2Ot6, pnion to getting the hJhite House meeting, you wene
6 not pant of those discussions, you were out of that loop as well?
7 MS. WILLIAVIS: Connect.

8 THE CHAIRMAN: You weren't of effonts that Ambassadon

awane

9 Vo1ken on Ambassadon Sondland wene making to get Pnesident Zelensky

10 to announce these investigations?

1t MS. WILLIAVIS: No, sin.

12 THE CHAIRMAN: And I take it that neithen Ambassadon Volker non

13 Ambassadon Sondland nor anyone else brought you into thein confidence
14 about effonts to get Pnesident Zelensky to go on CNN, even as the aid
15 was withheld to publicly announce these investigations that Pnesident
16 Tnump wanted?

17 MS. WILLIAvIS: No, si.r, I was not awane of those effonts.

18 THE CHAIRIVIAN: OKay. MN. NOblE.
19 BY MR. NOBLE:

20 a So going back to that July 9 meeting, pnion to that meeting,

27 had you had any discussions with Genenal Kellogg about the fneeze on

22 the Uknaine assistance?

23 A I don't believe so, because, again, when I leanned about it
24 on July 3, it was a veny bnief panagnaph, and it wasn't entirely clean
25 what mone to the stony thene was. So I don't believe I naised it to

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L General Kellogg's attention at that panticulan time.

2 I believe I did naise it with him fon his awaneness befone the
3 JuIy 9 meeting just in penson. Actually, yes, I did. I necalI now.
4 As I was pnepaning him fon that meeting, I did pnovide some briefing
5 matenials on a nange of, you know, policy mattens that we expected
6 Danylyuk would naise. And I believe I bniefed him venbally iust fon
7 his awaneness about this issue with OMB holding the assistance just
8 in case it came up.

9 a Why did you think it might come up in the meeting with

10 Danylyuk?

11 A I had no neason to believe that the Ukrainians were awane

t2 of it at that time, but I just wanted Genenal Kellogg to be awane just

13 in case.

74 a In case it did come up?

15 A Connect
16 a To youn knowledge, was when you briefed General Kellogg about
L7 the fneeze, based on Vindman's email, was that the finst time that he

18 was leanning that a freeze had been placed, on do you think he was
19 pneviously awane?

20 A I don't neal1y necall his neaction, to be honest, so I can't

2T neaIly say one way on the othen whethen it was the finst time he was
22 heaning of the infonmation on not.
23 a And did you and Genenal Kellogg have a substantive discussion
24 about that topic, on was it just kind of one way, you bniefed him and

25 that was it?

UNCLASSIFIED
 rL4
UNCLASSIFIED

1 A It was one way. It was a fainly bnief pne-bnief, so to speak,

2 so it was not a lengthy convensation about it. And, again, even at

3 that point, this was about a week aften I it, it
had finst learned of
4 still wasn't entirely clean what was behind the issue, whethen it was
5 still -- OMB's nationale, I had leanned, was to detenmine whethen the
5 aid was still in line with administnation pnionities. But I stilI had
7 not seen any clanification of what exactly that meant, and if this was
8 going to be a long-tenm pnocess.
9 a And I believe you testified -- and duning that July 9
10 meeting, I'm assuming this topic did not come up with the Uknainians,
11 the freeze?
T2 A Connect, it did not come up.
13 a I believe you testified that OMB was tasked with doing some
L4 kind of policy neview, on OMB said that there was going to be a policy
15 neview of the assistance pnovided to Uknaine. Is that night?
16 A In the bnief update that I had seen on July 3, f don't necall
t7 pnecisely how it was descnibed. But what I necall was State Depantment
18 was conveying to NSC that they wene told by OMB that they were going
19 to continue holding these congnessional notifications pending funthen

20 neview to make sune that the assistbnce was in line with administnation
2L pnionities. It was not specific in that shont panagnaph what exactly
22 that neview would entail.
23 a And did you get any mone color on that at the July 23 PCC
24 meeting that you attended?
25 A Not nealIy. The OMB nepnesentative at that meeting

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t essentially just to the gnoup that the guidance they had

conveyed

2 neceived fnom the White House chief of staff was to continue to hold
3 the assistance without funthen explanation.
4 a But the unanimous view of all the agencies that panticipated
5 in the PCC was that the hold should be lifted and the aid should flow
6 to Uknaine?
7 A That's cornect.
8 a Okay. Now, I believe Mn. Caston asked you some questions

9 that suggested that Pnesident Tnump may have been concenned about,
10 1ike, a netunn on investment fon these funds. You remember that line
11 of questioning?
t2 A I necall we discussed Pnesident Tnump'S, you know, bnoad view

13 on the effectiveness of foneign aid.

L4 a But at that point in time, hadn't the Depantment of Defense
15 alneady certified that the assistance was, in fact, effective and

L6 should be pnovided to Uknaine?

t7 A Yes, they did.
18 a Yeah. I mean, Ukraine had been invaded by Russia. They
19 wene litenally fighting a hot wan against Russia, and this military
20 assistance was going dinectly to help Uknaine fight the Russians.
2L fsn't that accunate?
22 A Connect. And DOD also made the point that this assistance
23 primanily goes to U.S. defense contnacting companies to implement.
24 a So the money was not only benefiting Uknaine, but it was also

25 indinectly benefiting U.S. companies, which is also a concenn of

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L President Trump, connect?

2 A That was a message that DOD was conveying to help make thein
3 point.
4 a And so eveny -- basically, eveny dolIan that is being spent

5 on this Uknaine assistance, the U.S. is seeing returns to both the

6 national security of Uknaine, the national security of the United
7 States, and to essentially the pockets of defense contnactons?
8 A That was centainly DOD's point of view.
9 a So that seems like a pnetty good investment fnom youn
10 penspective ?

LL A I believe so.
L2 a And until this fneeze that kind of came out of the bIue, fnom
13 youn penspective, on July 3, Pnesident Tnump had pneviously supponted
t4 assistance to Uknaine, didn't he?

15 A I believe that Pnesident Tnump had been suppontive of our

16 overall U.S.-Uknaine foneign policy. I don't know that I had any

17 specific insight into his particular views on the secunity assistance

18 pen se.

19 a But, again, all of the agencies at that point in time, as

20 of Ju1y, all these intenagency meetings that minonity counsel asked
21 you about, the view was unanimous that the aid should be pnovided to
22 Uknaine ?

23 A Connect, except fon OMB's clanification on why they wene

24 holding it.
25 a And that view neven changed, connect?

UNCLASSIFIED
 Lt7
UNCLASSIFTED

1 A No, sir.
2 a Did you neceive any instnuction fnom Vice Pnesident Pence

3 on General Kellogg about the position that you should take in the

4 intenagency meetings that you panticipated in? Did you discuss that?

5 A No, I did not. I pnepaned Genenal Kellogg for his

6 panticipation in the Deputies Committee meeting on JuLy 26' but prion
7 to that, I was kind of panticipating at my own level and then bniefing
8 Genenal Kellogg aftenwards.
9 a Can you teII us about how you pnepped Genenal KeIIogg fon
10 the -- was that the deputies' meeting?
LL A That's night. I pnepaned some talking points fon Genenal
72 Kellogg's panticipation in the TuLy 26 Deputies Committee meeting and

13 pnovided him some backgnound on how the pnevious meetings, the sub-PCC

L4 and the PCC, had gone so that he was awane of the status of the discussion
15 and whene the intenagency stood on the issue of secunity assistance.
16 a And did he neact in any way to youn bniefing, youn

L7 prepanation ?

18 A He seemed to
that, you know, OVP should take
agnee the

19 position to also suppont the lifting of the fneeze.

20 a And ane you awane whethen Vice Pnesident Pence supponted that
2t position at that time?

22 A I'm not aware because we didn't have a specific convensation

23 duning that timeframe about it.
24 a Ane you familian with a Pnesidential decision memonandum

25 that was dated on on about August L5 about lifting the fneeze on

UNCLASSIFIED
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UNCLASSTFIED

L secunity assistance?
2 A I don't believe so, no.
3 a Okay. So you don't necall even neceiving a copy of that?
4 A I can't say that I didn't neceive a copy in my email traffic
5 at one point. I took some leave around that timefname, so I may have
6 missed it.
7 a When did you take leave?
8 A Around that timeframe, in mid-August.
9 a Yeah. I mean, that's a usual time of yean --
10 A Yeah. Apologies if I missed it, but, yeah.
11 a No wonnies. But I was just -- my question was going to be
72 if you knew whethen Genenal Kellogg on Vice Pnesident Pence even got
13 a copy of that memonandum, and whethen they concunned in it or Vice
1,4 Pnesident specifically concunned in it?
15 A I don't know. I just don't know.
16 a Okay. Ane you familian with -- you may have been on leave,
t7 but are you familian with a meeting that the Pnesident had with advisens
18 at Bedminsten in New lensey on August 16?

19 A I'm not awane of that meeting, no.

20 a 0n whether Vice Pnesident Pence attended that meeting?
2t A I'm not awane. He may have, but I don't necall.
22 a Ane you familian with anothen PCC meeting that was held on
23 July 31?

24 A Yes. I was in that meeting.

25 a Okay. Can you tell us what happened in that meeting? 0r

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1 1et's -- what was

maybe

2 A I'I1 tny.
3 a What was the purpose of that meeting? Was it focused on
4 Uknaine, on was it about something else?
5 A It was a Ukraine PCC, and as I recall, it was focused on kind
6 of the, quote/unquote, nonmal nange of agenda items that compnise oun

7 Uknaine policy. So we discussed effonts on the secunity tnack, on the

8 economic tnack, and kind of the assistance tnack and whene all those
9 stood.
10 But I necall that because befone that, the week befone, you know,

11 the Deputies Committee meeting had taken place and essentially had

12 nesulted in the same conclusion that all agencies except fon OMB had

13 necommended that the hold be lifted.

L4 The next step in that process, there needed to be a PC, a

15 Pnincipals Committee meeting, and that was still pending. So when the
16 PCC met the following week thene was no resolution to the issue of the
17 security assistance ho1d, and so essentially, the gnoup just went back
18 to talking about the nonmal agenda items. essentially, theAnd

19 secunity assistance fneeze was the elephant in the noom that we just
20 skipped oven, because that was sti1l tnying to move forward wonking

2L towands a Pnincipals Committee meeting.

22 a Okay. So in the JuIy 23 PCC, the JuIy 26 deputies, on the

23 JuIy 31 PCC meeting -- I believe you panticipated in all of those,

24 night ?

25 A Yes, sin.

UNCLASSIFIED
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1 a Did the issue of the legality of the hold even come up? Did

2 anybody even naise questions about whethen this was 1ega1 on not?

3 A actually. I think it may have been in the 31st meeting.

Yes,

4 I can't recall if it was the 23rd on the 31st, but there wene
5 discussions --
6 MR. SWALWELL: Counsel, can we just get the dates on that, just
7 which month?
8 MR. NOBLE: 0h, July.
9 MS. WILLIAVIS: 0h, sorny. JuIy.
10 MR. SWALWELL: lust fon the necord, thanks.
L7 MS. WILLIAMS: JuIy 23 or JuIy 31, both at the PCC IeveI, thene
72 wene discussions about -- raised I believe both by State Depantment
13 and DOD, essentially trying to wonk out if there was no lifting of the

t4 hold, and we wene getting closen to the end of the fiscal yean, how
15 those agencies would need to go back to Congress to nemedy the situation
16 with unspent funds, and what would be the lega1 necounse fon eithen
t7 nequesting a nescission of those funds on, you know, what steps would
18 need to be taken to addness that befone the end of the fiscal yean.

19 BY MR. NOBLE:

20 A And ane you awane that ultimately after the fneeze was
2L lifted, on Septemben 11, DOD did have to come back to Congress and
22 Congness did have to write an amendment to effectively al1ow the funds
23 to be spent aften the Septemben 30 deadline?
24 A I was not awane of that, but I wasn't tnacking it that closely
25 at that time.

UNCLASSIFIED
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7 a Duning this counse of time, when the secunity assistance hold

2 was being considered in the intenagency, did you have funthen
3 discussions with Genenal Ketlogg about what the Office of the Vice
4 Pnesident should on could be doing to tny to get the fneeze lifted?
5 A No specific discussions othen than my bniefing him befone
6 the Deputies Committee meeting on JuLy 26, which would have been his
7 pnimany oppontunity of engagement on that issue. I would have done
8 the same if thene had been a Pnincipals Committee meeting sometime in
9 August, but after the Deputies Committee meeting, since no meeting was
10 scheduled, I didn't have a specific convensation with him about it.
LL a Okay. How about in the eanly part of August, befone you

t2 stanted pneparing fon the Wansaw meeting, when I know the secunity
13 assistance came up again --
L4 A Right.
15 a -- did you have any funthen convensations with Genenal
16 KeIIogg on anybody else at OVP about what ane you going to do about
L7 this hold that was on -- hold in place?
18 A No specific convensations. I was kind of tnacking the
19 pnocess to see if a Pnincipals Committee meeting would be scheduled

20 at some point. I have to say also duning the timefname of the month
21 of August, we wene stitl pnepaning fon the Vice Pnesident's trip to
22 Eunope, to the U.K., Ineland, and lce1and, so that neaIly consumed a

23 lot of my time. So I was awane of the pending issue, but not wonking
24 it myself on a day-to-day basis.
25 a Okay. Are you aware of whethen the Uknainians leanned of

UNCLASSIFIED
 722
UNCLASSIFIED

L the hold pnion to it becoming public thnough that Politico anticle on

2 August 28?

3 A I'm not aware.

4 a One way on the othen?
5 A One way on the othen.
5 a So I do want to ask some mone questions about the JuIy 25
7 ca1l, but it might make sense just to kind of finish with Wansaw and
8 the secunity assistance.
9 A Sune.
10 a In pnepaning fon the bilat between Vice President Pence and
17 Pnesident Zelensky, I believe you testified that the Vice Pnesident
t2 had asked fon an update on the hold on the secunity assistance. Is
13 that night?
14 A That's connect.
15 a And that Genenal Kellogg tasked you to gathen infonmation
16 and an update fon the Vice Pnesident?
L7 A Connect.

18 a Can you explain to us what you did to get the update that
19 was pnovided to Genenal Kellogg and the Vice Pnesident?
20 A Sure. I had seen a necent similan update pnepaned by Colonel
2L Vindman, my NSC colleague, that nea11y laid out the status of the
22 secunity assistance and what would be the necessany timings in onden
23 to get the assistance implemented by the end of the fiscal yean, how
24 much was being he1d, just neally the basics of whene it stood. So I

25 used that infonmation to cnaft an update fon Genenal Kellogg to pnovide

UNCLASSIFIED
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1 to the Vice Pnesident.

2 Q And how fan in advance of the Septemben 1st bilat did you

3 pnovide the update?

4 A I was asked to pnovide that on that Fniday, which I believe
5 is August 30, so it was --
6 Q Right befone?
7 A night befone, because we only found out about the tnip
8 the day befone that.
9 Q in the counse of gathening this infonmation, wene you
And

10 able to detenmine why the hold had been put in place and any insight
11 into whethen on not it was going to be lifted?
t2 A At that point, it 3. I was still
had been held since July
13 not awane of what the motivation behind the hold was, but I knew that
t4 Genenal Kellogg was also awane of the hold since he had panticipated
15 in the JuLy 26 Deputies Committee meeting, and I wasn't awane of any

16 change in the status oven the counse of August. So I did not address
t7 that -- the issue of why in my update. It was nea}ly just focused on
18 how much funding, what was the timeline looking like to -- if it was

19 going to be neleased, and, you know, what would it pnovide.

zo a okay. And I believe you testified that you anticipated that

2t Pnesident Zelensky would naise the issue of the hold aften it had become

22 public with the Vice Pnesident and that you and others may have pnepped

23 the Vice Pnesident on how to nespond. Is that right?

24 A Cornect. Ambassadon Bolton neally took the lead in that
2s pne-bnief conversation night befone the meeting with Pnesident

UNCLASSIFIED
 724
UNCLASSIFIED

L Zelensky, since he had just seen Zelensky a few days pnion. But I
2 believe his meeting was befone the Politico anticle had taken p1ace,
3 so Ambassadon Bolton had not discussed the hold with Zelensky, is my

4 undenstanding.
5 But Ambassadon Bolton and the Vice Pnesident in the small gnoup
5 discussed how to nespond to that question. And obviously, that gnoup
7 did not have a pnecise answen to pnovide to Zelensky in tenms of when

8 a decision might be made, but they talked about, you know, obviously
9 a decision would need to be made before the end of the fiscal yean,

10 which was veny quickly approaching. And they talked about -- a bit
11 about, you know, what othen Eunopean countnies could do to help suppont
72 Uknaine in the meantime.
13 a Was thene any discussion of the neason fon the hold in that
t4 small gnoup?

15 A No.
16 a No. f it seems a litt1e odd that thene's this hold
mean,

t7 in place that's been in place since July 3, as you said, the entine
18 interagency supponts lifting the hold, the Vice Pnesident anticipates
19 getting questions about it fnom Pnesident Zelensky, but thene's no
20 discussion of like why ane we even doing this, like why is this hold
27 in place?
22 A That's connect.
23 a Okay. Ane you familian with a finsthand on finst-penson
24 cable that Ambassadon Taylon dnafted and sent to Secnetany Pompeo, and
25 that we believe was funthen distnibuted possibly to the White House?

UNCLASSIFIED
 725
UNCLASSIFIED

1 A I am. I've read the cabIe.

2 a Wene you on the distnibution of the cable?
3 A I received it, I believe, fnom State Department colleagues,
4 but not on the oniginal distnibution, since it was a limited cable that
5 went stnaight to the Secnetany's office.
6 a Do you nememben who sent it to
you or how you got it?
7 A I don't necaII, to be honest. It might have been from NSC
8 colleagues.
9 a Do you necall what the cable said?
10 A It was a cable outlining Ambassadon Taylon's nationale on

11 the impontance of oun U.S. secunity assistance to Ukraine, and why it

72 was impontant fon the secunity assistance to continue to flow.
13 a Do you necall him saying that the hold was foIly?
t4 A Yes.

15 a Do you necall anything else that he said, on any othen

16 necommendations that he made?
L7 A ft was a lengthy cabIe. I don't nemember it venbatim, but
L8 I thought it was a veny pensuasive case.
19 a Do you nememben approximately when you neceived a copy of
20 it, on obtained a copy of it? Was it befone the Wansaw bilat?
2t A It was centainly befone the Wansaw tnip, because I necall
22 neading it in the pnocess of pneparing fon the tnip. I don't recall
23 the pnecise date, but it would have been anound that timefname, end
24 of August.
25 A Did you use it in pneparing the Vice Pnesident fon the bilat

UNCLASSIFIED
 726
UNCLASSIFIED

1 when you pulted togethen the matenials that Genenal Kellogg asked you
2 to do nelatingto the hold on the assistance?
3 A I'm tnying to necall, because I found it a veny pensuasive
4 cable, whethen I actually included it in the tnip book or not. I
5 believe I, at least, provided a copy to Genenal Kellogg. I can't necall
5 fon centain whethen I put it in the Vice Pnesident's tnip book on not.
7 a Okay. So you don't know one way on the othen whethen Vice
8 Pnesident Pence even saw that memo -- on cable, nathen?
9 A I don't necalI. I I found it significant, but I
know

10 couldn't say definitively whethen I put it in the book or not. I may

L1 have. I just can't necall.
L2 A You've used wonds "significant, pensuasive." Why did you
13 think Ambassadon Taylon's memo was both significant and pensuasive?
L4 A I thought he Iaid out a very stnong case fon the effectiveness
15 of U.S. secunity assistance to Ukraine, as We've discussed befone, not
16 just because of the actual physical and substantial suppont that it
L7 pnovides, but also the symbolic value of it; and that at this particulan
18 cnitical moment in Uknainian politics and security environment, that
19 any signal of wavening U.S. suppont would send the wnong message to

20 President Zelensky just as he was tnying to implement his neform agenda.

2t a And you said you necall Ambassador Taylon writing that he

22 thought the fneeze was -- the hold was foIIy. Did you agnee with that

23 assessment as well?

24 A Yes.

25 a And you said Pnesident Zelensky, when he met with Vice

UNCLASSIFIED
 t27
UNCLASSIFIED

t Pnesident Pence, noted the symbolic va1ue, not just the monetany value
2 of the assistance, night?
3 A Right, he did.
4 a Did he naise the symbolic value of a White House meeting on
5 a meeting with President Tnump as well?
6 A I'm tnying to necall. The neason I'm hesitating is I know
7 he naised it in the public remanks he made with the Pnesident -- with

8 Pnesident Tnump at the meeting on the margins of the U.N. General

9 Assembly not long aften, so I don't want to conflate the two.
10 a Yeah, I think he made a joke about
11 A He did.

L2 a -- the fact that the White House meeting still had not being
L3 scheduled ?

L4 A That we had fongotten to give him the dates fon the visit.
15 a Yeah?
16 A I just -- I can't recall specifically if he also raised it
77 in the meeting with the Vice Pnesident.

18 a But you would agnee that a meeting with the Pnesident at the
19 White House, on elsewhene, also canries symbolic value and could be

20 valuable to the Ukrainians. Even though it may not have a monetany

27 va1ue, it's valuable in showing that the U. S. has the full - - on Uknaine
22 has the fulI suppont of the United States, panticulanly when they're

23 battling Russia?

24 A Yes, I agnee.

25 a Okay. Do you necaIl whethen -- going back to the

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UNCLASSIFIED

1. cable -- Ambassadon Bolton ever raised the cable in the pne-bnief fon
2 the Vice Pnesident in Wansaw?
3 A No, I don't believe he did, not specifically. The topic was
4 discussed, but I don't believe thene was reference to the cabIe.
5 a Okay. So I think I want to go back to the July 25 caII, and
6 I know you wene asked questions about this fnom minonity counsel but
7 I had a few othens. Finst, on the issue of Bunisma, the company coming
8 up, does the wond "Bunisma" actually appear in youn notes that you

9 neviewed necently?

10 A Yes.

11 a So you wouldn't have wnitten that down if it hadn't come up

t2 duning the cal}. Is that night?

13 A Connect.

74 a Do you necall whethen it was Pnesident Tnump who said

15 Bunisma, on might it have been Pnesident Zelensky who said Bunisma?

16 Do youn notes say one way on the othen?

77 A In }ooking again at my notes, I believe it was Pnesident Tnump

18 who raised Bunisma.

19 a Okay. Do you know why the wond "Burisma "doesn't appean in

20 the MEMCON that was neleased publicly?"

2L A I don't know why.

22 a Okay. You wenen't involved in the editing pnocess, right?
23 A No, sir.
24 a And I believe you testified that pnion to the July 25 call,
25 you had listened in on about a dozen othen calls between Pnesident Tnump

UNCLASSIFIED
 129
UNCLASSIFIED

1 of state. Is that night?

and othen foneign heads
2 A Pnobably, around that numben.
3 a Okay. Duning the July 25 calI, did you have any concenns
4 about the convensation that you heand between Pnesident Tnump and
5 Pnesident Zelensky?
6 A I centainly noted that the mention of those specific
7 investigations seemed unusual as companed to othen discussions with
8 foneign leadens.
9 a And why wene they unusual?
10 A I believed those nefenences to be mone political in natune
11 and so that stnuck me as unusual.
72 a Wene you involved in pneparing talking points fon Pnesident
13 Tnump fon that JuIy 25 call?
t4 A No.

15 a Okay. Did you see the call package on talking points in

16 advance of the call?
t7 A No.

18 a So you just -- you leanned about the call and were asked to
19 panticipate in it?
20 A Connect.
2L a Okay. As you wene sitting in the Situation Room and you wene
22 taking notes, did you notice whethen othen people wene taking notes?
23 A Yes, othens wene taking notes as well.
24 a Do you necall who took notes duning the call?
25 A I believe evenybody in the noom was taking notes, yes.

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7 a Okay. Pnion to the July 25 caII, you said that these things,
2 the investigations that you said wene political and unusual, had you

3 even heand Pnesident Tnump or anybody else in the Office of the Vice
4 Pnesident on the White House naise the issue of CrowdStnike or the
5 Uknainian senven?
6 A No.

7 a I mean, on the DNC serven?

8 A No.

9 a Sothat was -- that stnuckyou as -- that was something new?

10 A I had never heand the wond "CnowdStrike" befone, so that's
LT why it stnuck me as noteworthy.

L2 a Okay. And what about the -- Pnesident Trump's naising the

13 issue of the 2016 etection duning the call? Had there been discussion
L4 in the Office of the Vice Pnesident on the White House, to youn

15 knowledge, about concerns about possible Uknainian intenfenence in the

16 2OL6 U.S. Pnesidential election? Had you heand anything --
77 A No, not to my knowledge.
18 a Okay. So that wasn't anything that was part of the official
19 U.S. policy channel?
20 A No.
27 a What about investigating the Bidens?
22 A I had neven heard discussion of that issue pnion to that phone
23 ca}l.
24 a Okay. Do you necall what language President Zelensky was

25 speaking during the phone caII?

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UNCLASSIFIED

t A I don't. My understanding, he's more comfortable in

2 Russian. But not speaking eithen Uknainian on Russian, I can't confinm
3 that.
4 a WelI, was he speaking English --
5 A No.
6 a -- the whole time?
7 A No. The call was intenpneted on both sides.
8 a So in youn othen calls with -- that you listened in on between
9 Pnesident Tnump and foneign heads of state, had any othen issues that
10 you would descnibe as political been naised, on domestic political
11 issues been naised in those calls?
L2 A No.
13 a How did Genenal Kellogg react when Pnesident Tnump naised
t4 these political issues on the July 25 caII?
15 A I didn't sense any reaction. We wene all neally just focused
16 on taking notes.
t7 a Did you notice a neaction fnom anyone in the room?
18 A No. Honestly, we wene all pnetty busy taking notes in the
19 moment, and we didn't have any follow-on convensations about it.

20 a And I believe you testified you neven spoke to Genenal

2t KeIlogg about the calI aftenwands?

22 A I did not.
23 a Did you speak to anybody about the fact that you found
24 these -- the call unusual on that political issues had come up in a
25 call with a foneign leaden?

UNCLASSIFIED
 732
UNCLASSIFIED

L A No, I did not.

2 a Were you awane of whether Ambassadon Vo1ken on Ambassadon
3 Sondland had pnepaned the Uknainians to expect Pnesident Tnump to naise
4 these political issues on the call? Were you awane of that?
5 A I was not awane of that.
6 a So you wenen't awane of like text messages and phone
7 conversations they were having with Andney Yenmak behind the scenes?
8 A No.
9 a Okay. Wene you awane, aften the Wansaw bilat in September,
10 of a proposal to have Pnesident Zelensky do a televised intenview duning

11 which he would announce the investigations into 2016 election

t2 intenfenence, Burisma, on the Bidens? Wene you awane of that?

13 A No, I was not awane of that.
t4 a So there was no discussions of that in the official Uknaine
15 policy -- policymaking channel?
16 A No.
77 a No, okay.
18 Now, I believe minonity counsel had asked you that -- on maybe

19 it was Mn. Meadows had asked about the fact that aften the bilat in
20 t,Jansaw, Vice Pnesident Pence was going to call Pnesident Trump to neIay,
27 I guess, the positive feedback he got fnom Pnesident Ze1ensky. Did
22 you panticipate in that phone call that night?
23 A No, I didn't.
24 a Okay. Do you know that a phone call did occun though between
25 the Vice Pnesident and the Pnesident?

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 A I believe he did have a phone call with the Pnesident, but,

2 again, I don't know what topics they discussed.
3 a Okay. But Pnesident Tnump didn't -- aften that phone call
4 did not immediately nelease the hold on the secunity assistance, did
5 he?

6 A No.
7 a It wasn't until about t@ days Laten that the hold was lifted?
8 A That's connect.
9 a And I believe you testified that it was on Septemben 9, so
10 2 days befone the hold was lifted, that you became awane that the
11 Congress had launched an investigation into the fneeze and the
L2 Uknainian issues mone generally. Is that night?
13 A I believe so. I can't necall if it was the 9th or the 10th,
L4 but, y€sr it was befone the hold was lifted.
15 a Was that investigation discussed within the Office of the
16 Vice Pnesident?
t7 A No.

18 a Did you have any discussions with Genenal KeIIogg about the
19 investigation ?

20 A No. I'm tnying to nememben whene I leanned of it, but, no,

2L I didn't have any convensations.

22 a Yeah. Do you necall how you leanned about it?
23 A Not neally. Apologies. I don't, honestly. I don't necaLL
24 if it was thnough open-sounce neponting, on if thene was some sont of
25 intennal update, but I don't neca11 having any convensations with

UNCLASS]FIED
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UNCLASSIFIED

1 General Kellogg about it.

2 a Okay. And not sticking even just within this timeframe, but
3 mone genenally, did you even become aware of a document request that
4 these committees had sent to the 0ffice of the Vice Pnesident fon
5 documents relating to Uknaine?

6 A I believe I saw a letten issued that was publicly neleased

7 requesting documents, yes.
8 a Was thene ever any discussion about that nequest in the

9 Office of the Vice Pnesident that you wene involved in?

10 A I'm not sune how to answen nelated to document nequests.
11 MR. SHUR: Could you repeat the question?
t2 MR. NOBLE: Sune. The question was, was thene any discussion
13 within the Office of the Vice Pnesident of the document nequest that
L4 the committee sent to the Vice President's office?
15 MR. SHUR: The concenn, I think, is that the answen is going to
16 call fon pnivileged communications with lawyens in the Vice Pnesident's

L7 office.
18 I think she can say whethen, yes on no, thene was
MR. NOBLE:

19 discussion on not without is the privilege attonney-client

20 pnivilege? Is that
2L MR. SHUR: YeS.

22 MR. NOBLE: Okay. But I think she can answen whether on not there

23 was a discussion without getting into the content.

24 MS. WILLIAVIS: OKay. YeS.

25 MR. NOBLE: Now, all of these documents that you've been talking

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 about today, did you tunn those oven to anybody? Like youn notes and

2 the emails nelating to Ukraine? The notes of the Ju1y 25 caII? The

3 copy of Ambassadon Taylon's cable and the othen documents that you've
4 nefenenced in youn testimony?

5 MR. SHUR: I guess, I think, same objection in the sense that it's
6 anguably wonk pnoduct in tenms of what she was asked to collect and
7 provide to counsel.

8 BY MR. NOBLE:

9 a Oh, weII, okay, maybe I can ask it this way: Those documents

10 still exist within the Office of the Vice Pnesident. Is that fair?
11 A Cornect.
t2 a Okay. And do you necall about when the discussion of the
13 committee's nequest fon documents was held? Do you nememben when that
t4 occunred ?

15 A Not pnecisely. I'd have to go back and look at when

16 pnecisely the letten was issued vensus when we stanted collecting

77 documents.

18 a Okay. Ane you awane of the call between Vice Pnesident Pence
19 and Pnesident Zelensky on Septemben 18?

20 A Yes.

2t a What was the punpose of that call?

22 A The purpose was to follow up on his successful meeting with
23 Pnesident Zelensky on Septemben 1, and to neitenate the news that the

24 secunity assistance hold had been lifted, and that the secunity
25 assistance would be pnovided. We knew at that point that Pnesident

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1 Zelensky was alneady awane that the secunity assistance would be

2 neleased. But because the Vice Pnesident had a successful meeting with

3 Pnesident Zelensky, it was a good opportunity fon them to have a

4 follow-on convensation.
5 a And did you listen in on the call?
6 A Yes.
7 a Can you describe the convensation fon us?
8 A Sure. It was a veny positive discussion, again, kind of
9 following up on thein successful meeting fnom September 1, as well as,
10 at that point, I believe it was just pnion to Pnesident Tnump's first
11 meeting with Pnesident Zelensky in New York, which, I believe, took
12 place the following week.
13 So it was a good oppontunity to kind of bnidge that gap and to
L4 convey that the Pnesident -- Pnesident Tnump was looking fonwand to
15 meeting Pnesident Zelensky in New Yonk the following week, and the Vice

16 Pnesident neitenated the news that the secunity assistance had been
t7 neleased.
18 a Was thene any discussion about the July 25 call between

19 Pnesident Tnump and Pnesident Zelensky --

20 A No.
2T a -- duning that call?
22 What about the investigations that we've been talking about

23 today?

24 A No.
25 a No. 0h, sonny, I think my time is up.

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t THE CHAIRMAN: Forty-five minutes to the minonity.

2 MR. CASTOR: We have just a few questions. It might make sense

3 to just keep going on youn end and then

4 MR. NOBLE: Yeah, I think we'ne almost done.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: Yeah. And we want to go to oun membens too, but

6 I don't think we'ne going to be that Iong. So do you want us to wrap

7 up and then you can go and

8 MR. CASTOR: Right. Like, I mean, I could go fon 5 minutes on

9 something, but it might just make mone sense to finish what you'ne doing
10 and then we'IL
11 THE CHAIRMAN: Yeah. LCt'S dO thAt.
L2 MR. NOBLE: Okay. Gneat. Thanks, Steve.
13 BY MR. NOBLE:

L4 a Did the topic of Pnesident Zelensky doing a televised

15 intenview that I asked you about, did that come up duning the Vice
16 Pnesident's caIl with Pnesident Zelensky?
t7 A No.

18 a Were you awane of whethen that was stilI unden considenation

19 at the time?
20 A I was still not awane of that at aII at that point.
2t a Did Vice Pnesident Pence give Pnesident Zelensky any advice
22 on how to approach on how to deal with Pnesident Tnump at the upcoming

23 United Natlons Genenal Assembly?

24 A just to -- that the

Nothing specific, othen than
25 Pnesident -- Pnesident Tnump would be eagen to hean about Pnesident

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1 Zelensky's pnogness in his nefonm agenda.

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1 lL:28 p.m. l
2 BY MR. NOBLE:

3 a On -- nefonm agenda on what, on connuption?

4 A Bnoadly, on anticonnuption nefonms, on nefonming the

5 judiciany, and the legislative action that his administnation was
6 undentaking, but there was no discussion of any specific
7 investigations.
8 a Did Vice Pnesident Pence give President Zelensky any kind
9 of talking points on phnases on keywonds to use with Pnesident Tnump
10 duning their meeting?

LT A No.

t2 a Going back to Septemben 11th, just quickly, ane you aware

13 of a meeting that evening at which the hold on secunity assistance was

t4 discussed, on Septemben 11?

15 A No. I'm tnying to nememben was I leanned about the

16 lifting of the hold, I believe, on Septemben 11th, but I thought I
t7 leanned about it in the monning. So no, I'm not awane of a meeting
18 that took place that evening.

19 a So you'ne not aware of whethen the Vice Pnesident on Genenal

20 Kellogg panticipated in a meeting with Pnesident Tnump at which the
2L question of whethen to lift the hold was discussed on that day?
22 A I necall anound that timefname, Septemben 10th-11th, thene
23 was discussion with NSC about trying to have a discussion on the status
24 of the hold with the Pnesident, but I'm not -- I was not awane of when

25 it occunned, and I don't believe that Genenal Kellogg on the Vice

UNCLASSIFIED
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L Pnesident wene a pant of it, although I can't confinm that. I'm not

2 centain.
3 a To youn necollection, though, you didn't have any
4 conversations with General Kellogg in advance of that, of such a meeting
5 on aften such a meeting?
6 A No. I mean, at that point, the issue of the secunity
7 assistance hold had been ongoing, so I didn't feel thene was anything
8 I needed to bnief him on.
9 a Are you awane of whether Ambassadon Bolton ever called oven
10 to OMB anound the time that he depanted the White House to unge them

77 to lift the hold on secunity assistance?

L2 A I'm not awane.

13 a Did you panticipate in the U.N. Genenal Assembly?
14 A No.
15 a Do you know if Vice Pnesident Pence on Genenal Kellogg
15 panticipated ?

L7 A The Vice Pnesident was up in New Yonk fon about a day and
18 a haIf, I believe, but he did not participate in the Pnesident's meeting

19 with Pnesident Ze1ensky.

20 a Okay. Did you do any pnep work for the Vice Pnesident's tnip
27 to UNGA?
22 A No. I don't believe he had any engagements nelated to my
23 negion, so I did not.
24 a You watched the pnessen between the Pnesident and President
25 Zelens ky ?

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1 A r did.
2 a Okay. Did you get any neadouts fnom anybody about the
3 pnivate meeting that the two Pnesidents had?

4 A I believe I did neceive a neadout later fnom Tim Monnison

5 about the meeting.

6 a Do you necall what Monrison nelayed?
7 A I don't necall a lot of detail, to be honest. It sounded
8 like it had been a veny positive meeting. I just don't necall the
9 specifics of it.
10 a Are you awane of any convensations that the Vice Pnesident
7t had with eithen Secnetany of State Pompeo on Secnetany of Defense Espen
L2 nelating to the secunity assistance?
13 A I'm not awane of any. I can't say that it didn't come up

t4 in inside convensations, but I'm not awane of any, no.

15 THE CHAIRMAN: I just had one question, then I'm going to hand

15 it to my colleagues.
17 You mentioned at the Wansaw meeting between Pnesident Zelensky
18 and Vice Pnesident Pence that Pnesident Zelensky made clean his
19 intenest in the militany assistance. Did Pnesident Zelensky naise at
20 that meeting his continued interest in a meeting with Pnesident Tnump

27 as well?
22 MS. WILLIAIvIS: I'm tnying to necalI. I honestly don't necall if
23 that specific issue came up.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: His numben one pnionity was getting the militany
25 assistance and -- fon its own night, and what it would say to the

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1 Russians about the U.S. having Ukraine's back militanily?

2 MS . WI LLIAVIS : That ' s right .

3 THE CHAIRIVIAN: MN. SWAIWC1l.

4 MR. SWALWELL: Thank you, Chairman.

5 Thank you, Ms. t,.Jilliams.

6 0n the Apnil 21 congnatulatony call between Pnesident Tnump and

7 Pnesident Zelensky, did you hean Pnesident Tnump mention cornuption
8 at all?
9 MS. WILLIAMS: I only nead the transcnipt, so I wasn't listening
10 to the cal1.
11 MR. SWALWELL: I'm sonny. Did you nead connuption?
t2 MS. WILLIAMS: I believe it may have come up in the context of
13 oun ovenall foneign policy objectives for Uknaine to addness the issue
L4 of anticonruption nefonms.
15 MR. SWALWELL: And I undenstand that those wene the objectives
16 of the team, but what Pnesident Tnump actually said to Pnesident

L7 Zelensky, did he ever use the word "connuption"?

18 MS. WILLIAMS: I would have to nefen back to the tnanscript to
19 be L@@ centain. I haven't looked at it in quite a long time.
pencent

20 MR. SWALWELL: And you would agnee in the July 25 call that

2L Pnesident Tnump neven used the wond "connuption"?

22 MS. WILLIAvIS: Again, I'd
to look at the tnanscript to be
have

23 100 pencent centain. I believe he did talk about cornuption in that

24 ca11, but
25 MR. SWALWELL: You necall heaning the wond "conruption" fnom

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1 Pnesident Tnump?

2 MS. WILLIAMS: To be honest, I'd have to neview the tnanscnipt.

3 MR. SWALWELL: Aften the April 21st cal1, you said the Vice
4 Pnesident neviewed the call memonandum to be pnepaned fon his call to
5 Pnesident ZeIensky. Do you necal1 that?
6 MS. WILLIAvIS: I provided the tnanscnipt to him.

7 MR. SWALWELL: Fon him to neview?

8 MS. WILLIAMS: Connect.

9 MR. SWALWELL: And I think you descnibed the punpose of that as

10 being so the Vice Pnesident was pnepaned and could canny out the
11 Pnesident, Pnesident Tnump's foneign policy objectives when he spoke
L2 to President Zelensky -- on Pnesident-elect Zelensky?
13 MS. WILLIAvIS: Yes. I wanted him to be familian with the

14 conversation that Pnesident Trump had had with Pnesident Zelensky 2

15 days pnion.
16 MR. SWALWELL: And would you say that Vice Pnesident Pence was

77 consistent with the message that Pnesident Tnump delivered on Apnil

18 27?

19 MS. WILLIAMS: I believe the two messages were consistent, yes.

20 They both congnatulated Pnesident Zelensky and looked fonwand to a good

2t wonking nelationship.
22 MR. SWALhJELL: So fast-forwand to JuIy 25. Aften that call
23 memonandum is pnoduced, you, again, pnovide that to the Vice Pnesident

24 in his briefing matenials?

25 MS. WILLIAvIS: Cornect.

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1 MR. SWALWELL: And the next time the Vice Pnesident talks with
2 Pnesident Zelensky aften July 25 is in Wansaw. Is that night?
3 MS. I^JILLIAvIS: Yes. The Vice Pnesident had not spoken to
4 Zelensky since Apnil 23nd until Septemben 1st, yes.
5 MR. SWALWELL: And so, how would you descnibe the consistency
6 between Pnesident Tnump's foneign policy objectives in the July 25 call
7 with how Vice Pnesident Pence intenacted with Pnesident Zelensky in
8 thein Wansaw meeting?

9 I is, Apnil 2L, Pnesident Tnump expresses

guess my question

10 foneign policy objectives. It sounds like Vice Pnesident Pence stays

LT pretty consistent with those in his followup call.
L2 MS. WILLIAvIS: Connect.

13 MR. SWALWELL: Now take the luJ-y 25 call between Pnesident Tnump

t4 and Pnesident Zelensky. How would you descnibe Vice Pnesident Pence's

15 consistency with President Tnump's objectives?

16 MS. WILLIAMS: I would say that the Vice Pnesident's meeting on

17 Septemben 1st in Wansaw was consistent with U.S. foneign policy

18 objectives.
19 MR. SWALTaJELL: But I asked about Pnesident Tnump's objectives.

20 MS. WILLIAMS: I undenstand. I undenstand. I would say that,

2L as I've spoken about eanlien, that I did find a couple of the nefenences
22 in the Pnesident's July 25th call unusual, and more of a political
23 natune, and that is not something that the Vice Pnesident has even
24 naised with the Uknainians.
25 MR. SWALWELL: You would agree that the Pnesident of the United

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1 States sets the foneign policy objectives fon the United States?
2 MS. WILLIAVIS: Yes, siN.

3 MR. SI^IALWELL: Andin the JuIy 25 caII, the pnionities fon

4 Pnesident Tnump wene for the Uknainians to look into CnowdStnike and
5 to investigate the Bidens?
6 MS. WILLIAVIS: That is what he naised.
7 MR. SWALWELL: And wene those pnionities of the Pnesident of the
8 United States naised by the Vice Pnesident when he met in penson with
9 Pnesident Zelensky?
10 MS. WILLIAVIS: NO.

\L MR. SWALWELL: Why wenen't they naised by the Vice Pnesident?

t2 MS. WILLIAMS: It was neven part of any of the pnepanation fon
13 that meeting, and centainly not pant of oun -- the message that the
L4 Vice Pnesident intended to convey to Pnesident Zelensky. It neven came
15 up.

16 MR. SWALWELL: You descnibed it as unusual when you heand those

t7 pnionities raised on the July 25 call. How did they make you feel as
18 you heand those wonds expnessed by the Pnesident of the United States
19 to the Pnesident of Ukraine?
20 MS. WILLIAMS: As I mentioned, I think I found them to be mone
2t political in natune and, in the context of a foneign policy -- on an
22 engagement with a foneign leaden, to be mone political than diplomatic.
23 MR. SWALWELL: 0n the JuIy 9 meeting between the Vice Pnesident's
24 team and the Uknainians that you wene pant of, was Rudy Giuliani

25 mentioned at all in that meeting?

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UNCLASSIFlED

1 MS. WILLIAIVIS: No.

2 MR. SWALWELL: Wene you a pant of any discussions about neleasing

3 the July 25 call necond and making it public?

4 MS. WILLIAMS: No.

5 MR. SWALWELL: Was the Vice Pnesident a part of any discussions

6 to make it public?
7 MS. WILLIAIVIS: Not to my knowledge.

8 MR. SWALWELL: Can you descnibe fon us, fnom youn intenactions
9 with the Uknainians, what the secunity assistance meant to them as fan
10 as life and death in the eastenn pant of their countny?
11 MS. WILLIAMS: My only pensonal intenactions with the Uknainians
t2 wene on July 9th, and again on Septemben 1st, in the meetings that we've
13 discussed.

L4 MR. SWALWELL: And did you get a sense of what it meant to them

15 to have that assistance?

16 MS. WILLIAMS: In both contexts, both Secnetany Danylyuk on JuIy
t7 9th, and centainly Pnesident Zelensky and Secnetany Danylyuk at that
18 time on Septemben 1st in Warsaw, conveyed quite seniously and

L9 emphatically the impontance of U.S. secunity assistance to Ukraine,

20 in tenms of, again, not just the physical support pnovided, but the
2L symbolic value of that suppont.
22 MR. SWALWELL: Thank you.

23 I yield back.

24 THE CHAIRMAN: Mn. Raskin.

25 MR. RASKIN: When the hold was finally tifted on the security

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1 assistance on Septemben 11th, what was youn undenstanding at that point

2 of why the hold was lifted?
3 MS. WILLIAMS: I never neceived any readout of a discussion with

4 the Pnesident on how that decision was made, so I'm really not in a

5 position to comment on what the nationale was.

6 MR. RASKIN: So you got no neadout fnom the Pnesident on that

7 issue, but was thene any discussion on the Vice Pnesident's staff of
8 what motivated the lifting of the hold?
9 MS. WILLIAMS: No. I found out fnom a colleague that monning,

10 I believe that monning, that the Pnesident had made the decision to
TL Iift the hold, but with no funther discussion as to the rationale.
L2 MR. RASKIN: So between JuIy 3nd, when you finst leanned of the

13 hold, and Septemben 1lth, when you leanned it was lifted, you neven
L4 came to undenstand why the hold was imposed on the secunity assistance?

15 MS. WILLIAMS: That is cornect.

16 MR. RASKIN: And wene you cunious about it, on you just accepted

L7 it?
18 MS. WILLIAvIS: I was certainly cunious about it, but I didn't have

19 any finsthand knowledge as to the neasoning.

20 MR. RASKIN: Okay. And you stated that you took notes of the

2L mentions of the political conditions in the July 25th caII because you
22 thought that they wene impnopen, because they wene mone political than
23 diplomatic. Is that night?
24 I think that's how I would chanactenize
MS. WILLIAIvIS: those two

25 nefenences to specific investigations on that caII, yes.

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L MR. RASKIN: Some people would say that diplomacy itself is

2 inhenently political, and so evenything diplomatic is, by definition,
3 political a1so, but you had a stnong neaction to that. Can you spe1l

4 out what you saw as impnoperly political about those mentions?

5 MS. WILLIAVIS: I believe I found the specific nefenences to
6 be -- to be mone specific to the Pnesident in natune, to his personal
7 political agenda, as opposed to a bnoaden --
8 MR. RASKIN: Do you mean nelated to a campaign?
9 MS. WILLIAvIS: Potentially, as opposed to a bnoaden foneign
10 policy objective of the United States.
71 MR. RASKIN: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chainman.

t2 THE CHAIRMAN: Repnesentative Heck and then Repnesentative

13 Demings.

L4 MR. HECK: Thank you, Mn. Chainman

15 Ms. Wi11iams, thank you again veny much fon being here. I
16 actually want to bniefly follow up on a question that Congressman

T7 Swalwell asked. He asked you how it made you feel when you heand the

18 Pnesident in the July 25th call invoke the specten of investigations

19 fon which you've now chanacterized as personal political intenest.
20 And youn nesponse to that was that you found them unusual and
27 political. But the question was how did it make you feel? Given that
22 what you've just said, would it be fain to infen that it made you
23 uncomfontable ?

24 MS. WILLIAvIS: I guess I would say, as a diplomatic pnofessional,

25 I tny to keep my own pensonal feelings out of, you know, the day-to-day

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UNCLASSIFIED

1 wonk, but
2 MR. HECK: You had no pensonal feeling nesponse to that, given

3 how you've chanactenized it?

4 MS. WILLIAMS: Again, I would say that it struck me as unusual
5 and inappnopniate.
6 MR. HECK: Ms. Williams, that's not the question. How did it
7 make you feel?
8 MS. WILLIAIvIS: I guess for me it shed some light on possible othen

9 motivations behind a secunity assistance hold.

10 MR. HECK: WeII, I asked thnee times and didn't get thene, so I
11 guess I'm going to let it go at that.
L2 I yield back, Mr. Chainman.
13 THE CHAIRIvIAN: Congnessman Maloney.

L4 MRS. MALONEY: Thank you veny much fon youn senvice.

15 MS . WI LLIAVIS : Thank you ma ' am.

16 MRS. MALONEY: We've been discussing these telephone calls in

L7 gneat detail. Do you keep tapes of these telephone calls?
18 M5. WILLIAMS: I do not, and I'm not awane of any.
19 MRS. MALONEY: You'ne not awane of any?

20 MS. WILLIAVIS: I'm not awane of any necondings.

2t MRS. MALONEY: Ane you positive thene's no necondings?
22 M5. WILLIAMS: I don't know how the White House Situation Room

23 pnoduces the tnanscnipts of calIs, so I'm neally not in a position to

24 say.

25 MRS. MALONEY: WeII, I'11 tell you how we do them in Congness.

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t We have a tape of it, and then we have it tnanscnibed, and then they

2 put the tape with the words and you have an official necond. And so,
3 people have joked in the pness and Membens talking that, of counse,

4 Putin is Iistening to these phone calls, given his formen pnofession

5 as the head of the KGB.

7 Right now many of us ane in elections, and when you'ne in a

8 contested election, you neven say anything unless it's taped, because

9 your opponent may tny to mix youn wonds up on whateven. So we always

10 have a tape.
LI And something as impontant as this, don't you think when you'ne

t2 talking to a foneign government, that thene's got to be a tape someplace

13 of this?
L4 MS. WILLIAMS: I'm nealLy not in position to say. I don't know.
15 I know we neceive the written tnanscripts aftenwards fon oun own
16 intennal neconds. It's neaIly above my pay gnade to detenmine whether
77 there's a tape on not.
18 MRS. MALONEY: t'lhene could I go to get this question answened?

19 Who would tell me whethen on not there's a tape? Who could tell me?

20 MS. WILLIAvIS: My undenstanding is the White House Situation Room

21 handtes the pnocessing of those tnanscnipts. So they would

22 MRS. MALONEY: Can you give me a name?

23 MS. WILLIAvIS: I couldn't, honestly. I -- there's a genenic

24 email addness that we communicate with them, and it'S a veny lange team.
25 MRS. MALONEY: Who's in change of the White House Situation Room?

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L MS. hJILLIAvIS:I don't pensonally know. I apologize.

2 MRS. MALONEY: Can you find out fon us?

3 MS. WILLIAVIS: I centainly can.

4 MRS. MAL0NEY: Thank you.

5 Now, what I find veny confusing is I'm a fonmer buneaucnat in State

6 Govennment of New Yonk. And the governors change all the time, but
7 the buneaucnats stay, and we wonk fon whoeven it is. We'ne working

8 fon the State with a specific job.

9 It's the same fon the pnofessionals, not the political
10 appointees, but the pnofessionals ane wonking for the Pnesident,
11 whoeven the Pnesident is, night?
L2 MS. : Yes, ma ,aM.
WI LLIAVIS

13 MRS. MALONEY: That's it. And so the chain of command is the

L4 Pnesident to the Secnetany of State down to whoeven has that

15 nesponsibility, connect?

16 MS. WILLIAIVIS: Yes, ma'am.

L7 MRS. MALONEY: We1I, whatI find, if I wene in youn position or

18 othens, so confusing is that you have this chain of command fnom the
19 Pnesident thnough the State Depantment. Then you have anothen chain
20 of command coming fnom the Pnesident thnough Giuliani. Now, anyone

2L who knows thein nelationship, they'ne veny close fniends. And if

22 Giuliani told me I'd believe him. I'd
he's speaking fon the Pnesident,
23 believe he's pnobably speaking fon him when he's not saying it.
24 So hene how, as a professional, you have this and what was being

25 told was sepanate, was diffenent. You had Giuliani saying the

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7 Pnesident wants this, and then coming down hene, the State Depantment

2 saying the President -- they've come in here and testified about this.
3 So have you even seen that befone, on heand of two chains of
4 command coming into the State Depantment?
5 MS. WILLIAVIS: Not in that way, ro, ma'am.

6 MRS. MALONEY: But am I descnibing it connectly? Was it

7 confusing to pnofessionals? You wene pnobably a political appointment
8 wonking fon the Vice Pnesident or maybe you're -- ane you a political
9 appointment or ane you professional with the State Depantment?
10 MS. WILLIAvIS: I'm a caneen foneign senvice officen.
LT MRS. MALONEY: So you'ne a caneen officen, so you'ne wonking fon
t2 the government.

13 MS. WILLIAVIS: Yes, ma'am.

L4 MRS. MALONEY: How do you -- he was saying, did that make you feel
15 uncomfontable? Did it make you feel uncomfontable and confused that
16 a chain of command from the State Depantment was saying one thing and
L7 then you had a chain of command from the, I'1I caII it the fniendship
18 channel, I don't knowwhat it is, cominB in, and you'ne sitting thene,
19 both coming fnom the Pnesident. How do you -- how did you and your
20 colleagues handle that?
2t MS. WILLIAvIS: WelI, I pensonally was not awane of a lot of the
22 discussions that wene going on with Mn. Giuliani and othens until more

23 necently thnough this inquiry pnocess. The finst nefenence I had

24 pensonally heard related to Mn. Giuliani was on the July 25th phone
25 ca11.

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1 5o until that time, I really wasn't awane of what othen

2 engagements the Uknainians may have had with othen U.S,
3 nepnesentatives, whethen official on not

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1 MRS. MALONEY: We1l, neading the papens, it was clean that thene

2 was a conflict between the interpnetation of the pnofessionals at the

3 State Depantment and what was coming in thnough the veny powenful
4 fniendship channel.
5 Now, I'm veny sensitive to how women are tneated pnofessionally,

6 and I followed veny closely Ambassadon Yovanovitch. But she was, by

7 aII accounts, by evenyone, both sides of the aisle, they all said

8 beautiful things about hen: a professional, a menton, she inspined

9 fie, we tunned to hen fon advice.
10 And I see a pattern of the State Depantment sont of contnolling
11 the situation and saying: Hey, all this stuff isn't true, maybe we
t2 should stand behind oun pnofessional.
13 Isn't it the State Department's position usually to back up the
t4 Amenican nepresentatives if they factually know they'ne connect? What
15 I heard is this Ambassadon, she's absolutely
evenybody was backing

16 connect. And wouldn't you say that's true?

t7 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am.

18 MRS. MALONEY: And then there was a change. Now, the change

19 seemed to come aften the Muellen neport came out. Did you see a

20 diffenence ?

27 It seemed to me that thene was a diffenence in how hen situation

22 was tneated and that State Depantment officials did not stand behind

23 hen when she pled fon them to suppont hen. Is that a connect assessment

24 of what came out?

25 MS. WILLIAIvIS: I don't necall pnecisely when the Muellen nepont

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7 was neleased, but it seems that it was anound that timefname. I'm not
2 in a position to make a linkage between the two. But I was awane of
3 the situation with Ambassador Yovanovitch towands the end of Apnil,
4 when she was'recalled fnom Kyiv fon consultations.
5 MRS. MALONEY: WeI1, all I can say is, if eveny candidate has a

6 tape to make sune that their necond is pontnayed accunately, I've got
7 to think that the gneat countny of Amenica has got to have a tape to
8 counten evenybody else's tape that's out thene.
9 I mean, evenybody is saying --
10

tt
t2 And it's just common sense that we would have a necond.
13 And I would -- what's youn -- what's youn -- I guess this is not

74 an appnopniate question fon you.

15 I just want to thank you fon youn senvice.
16 And I yield back.

L7 MS. WILLIAvIS: Thank you, ma'am.

18 THE CHAIRIvIAN: Back to the minonity.

79 BY MR. CASTOR:

20 a for youn senvice and fon appeaning hene today and

Thank you

2t answening our questions. This is, indeed, not a comfontable

22 envinonment. So to the extent you have sat here all day and answened

23 questions, thank you.

24 A Thank you.
25 a rI just have a couple of followup questions
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1 A Of counse.
2 a -- which should be hopefully bnief.
3 A No wonnies.
4 a Wene thene any -- aften you netunned from Poland, did the
5 VP have any funthen intenactions with President Zelensky, to your
6 knowledge ?

7 A Not until the September 18th calI.

8 a Okay. And could you just nefnesh my necollection of what
9 occurned on the Septemben 18th call?
10 A Sure. So we had proposed that the Vice President make a
7L followup call to Pnesident Zelensky to fo1low up on thein very positive
L2 discussion fnom Septemben 1st. It seemed like good timing, because

13 not only could they discuss the fact that the secunity assistance hold
L4 had been neleased, but also it was about a week befone Pnesident Tnump

15 would see Pnesident Zelensky in New Yonk.

16 So that's why the call took place, and it was veny -- again, a
L7 veny positive call, yoU know, with the Vice Pnesident neitenating the
18 nelease of the funds and asking a bit mone about, you know, how

19 Zelensky's effonts wene going

20 a Okay. And on that call, thene wasn't any mention of
2L investigations ?

22 A No.

23 a Any --
24 A No specific investigations, no.

25 a Not 2016, not --

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L A No

2 a Bunisma ?

3 A No

4 a Not Biden?
5 A No.

6 a Not CnowdStnike?
7 A No.
8 a Okay. How often do you intenact with the Vice Pnesident?
9 Like how fnequently ane you bniefing him and

10 A It depends on the week. It's not a veny concnete answen.

11 It's acconding to his engagements with issues in my pontfolio, which
L2 is Eunope and Russia. So whethen that's in pneparation fon a meeting

13 with a foneign leader on a phone call. So I would say, you know, at

T4 least once a week, but it depends on the week.

15 a And ondinany bniefings with the Vice Pnesident, what's the

16 nosten of staff that panticipates?
L7 A In his foneign leaden engagements on just in genenal?

18 a The bniefings that you'ne involved with. What's youn

19 typical undenstanding or your typical necollection of the type of staff

20 that is involved?
27 A Well
22 a I mean, you'ne not bniefing him one-on-one, connect?

23 A Sune. No, oor ho, of counse.

24 So when I've been involved in bniefings with him, it's -- almost
25 always Genenal Kellogg is pant of that discussion as well, and often

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7 his Chief of Staff.

2 THE CHAIRMAN: If I can just intennupt, and this may on may not

3 be an issue. We tny to be veny caneful not to aIIow questions to pnobe

4 on seek to identify the whistleblowen. And so I just put that caveat

5 out thene, that if youn answens would tend to give any indication one

6 way on anothen, then you should not go there.

7 And, with that caveat, I will allow the counsel to pnoceed.

8 MR. CASTOR: I didn't realize I was anywhene close to that.

9 THE CHAIRMAN: I don't know if you ane. When we stanted getting

Lo into tell me all the names you know, then that's when I took intenest.
Ll BY MR. CASTOR:

t2 a No, f'm just tnying to undenstand, when you bnief the Vice
13 Pnesident ane thene 10 staffens thene, is it 5, is it just you, Ke1logg,
L4 and --
15 A Usually - - it's usually a smaI1 gnoup. It's usuaLly Genenal

16 Kel1ogg, Manc Shont, oun Chief of Staff, and myself. Sometimes oun

77 Deputy National Secunity Advison as well.

18 a Okay. And in tenms of the bniefing books the Vice Pnesident
19 gets, you know, like any senior executive, I mean, is it youn
20 understanding he reads the briefing books eveny night on he neads it
2L sometimes and not sometimes -- on not other times, excuse me?

22 A I honestly don't know. We pnovide it daiIy.

23 a Okay.

24 A Yeah.

25 a But you have no way of knowing whethen on not the Vice

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1 Pnesident neads a panticular briefing book? I mean, he might have a

2 veny busy calendan. He might have things at night. It just might not
3 happen.

4 A Connect.

5 a And thene's just no way of knowing.

6 A Connect.

7 a And so the briefing book that the Vice Pnesident neceived

8 on JuIy 25th, you said it included the call tnanscnipt.

9 A That's night.
10 a And to the best of youn knowledge, that was the only bniefing
11 book on set of matenials pnovided to the Vice Pnesident nelating to
t2 that call?
13 A Cornect.
L4 a And you genuinely just don't know if the Vice Pnesident nead

15 that infonmation?
16 A That's night. I just don't know.

t7 a Okay.
18 The concenns that you've outlined about the ca1l, have you

19 communicated youn concenns at any point to anyone inside the Vice

20 President's office?
2t A No. My boss, Genenal Ke1logg, was on the call as well. And

22 I knew that the Vice Pnesident had access to the tnanscnipt fnom his

23 bniefing book that evening. But given my role as Special Advisen to

24 the Vice President, I considened that something nelated to the

25 Pnesident in that mannen was neally outside my punview.

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t a Now that you'ne hene testifying in Congness, that thene's

2 a tnanscnipt that could be made public, befone you came up hene did
3 you communicate to the Vice President's -- to Genenal Kellogg and the
4 nest of the staff that you'ne coming up hene and you'ne planning to
5 teII Congress about the concenns you had?

6 A I didn't discuss my testimony with anyone in the office.

7 a So it's possible Genenal Kellogg, the othen staff in the Vice
8 Pnesident's office, this might be the finst they'ne heaning of youn
9 concenns about the 7/25 call?
10 A That is possible.
11 a The infonmation you neceived fnom Marc Shont's assistant on

72 May 13th -- was that the day?

13 A Connect.

74 a You wene told by Manc Shont's assistant that the VP was not

15 going on the tnip?

L6 A Conrect.

17 a And did the assistant -- I think you said it was a she, night?

18 A Yes.

19 a Did she explain why on how she came to leann that?

20 A My best necollection is that she infonmed me that the VP would
2t not be tnaveling to Ukraine for the inaugunation. And I asked hen,
22 why not? And my best necollection is that she then let me know that
23 the Pnesident had detenmined that the Vice Pnesident should not go.

24 a Okay.

25 A But I was not privy to that convensation.

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 L67
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1 a Okay. And it was a telephone convensation?

2 A Connect.
3 a And you didn't ask any followup questions?
4 A I took that to be the guidance and then moved on with stopping
5 the trip pnepanation.
6 a So as you sit hene today, you don't know how she leanned that
7 infonmation ?

8 A Cornect, I don't.
9 a Okay. Have you had any funthen discussions with hen since
10 May 13th about that convensation? Have you --
11 A No. We don't neally talk about policy issues. I genenally
72 engage with hen nelated to scheduling issues.
13 a 5o you didn't go back to try to refresh youn
hen and
74 necollection about exactly how you came to leann this infonmation?
15 A No. No, I nefneshed my memony just fnom looking at my own
L6 intennal documents.

L7 a Okay. And to the best of your knowledge, between May L3th

18 and today, you haven't even discussed that with hen, night?
19 A Not with hen, no.
20 a And I think you said this monning that once the VP's tnip
21 to Kyiv was not going to happen you neven had any discussions with

22 Genenal Kellogg on Mn. Shont on anyone on the VP's staff about why?

23 A No. No, I conveyed that infonmation to NSC colleagues and

24 let them take it fnom thene.
25 a So youn infonmation about the why solely comes fnom
UNCLASSIFIED
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1 Mn. Shont's assistant, night?

2 A That's right.
3 a I fonget if you indicated to us, but how many intenactions
4 have you had with Ambassadon Sondland?

5 A A handful. I'm tnying to be mone pnecise than that. He was

6 obviously pant of the delegation in Wansaw, so I saw him a couple times

7 there. I had seen him at some point in the summen at anothen meeting
8 nelated to, I believe, othen EU issues. So not a lot, foun on five.
9 a Okay. And have you had any discussions with othen staffens
10 that you work with about Ambassadon Sondland and his nole in some of
11 these issues?
t2 A In his nole in Ukraine issues in panticulan?
13 a Yes.

L4 A Not specific discussions. II think his name came up

mean,

15 in vanious discussions about Uknaine, and so I deduced from that that

16 obviously he was involved. I didn't know if he had a -- some sont of
17 fonmal designation to do that on if it was just his interest in it.
18 a Did you know whether on not Ambassador Sondland repnesented
19 to peopte that he fnequently communicated with the Pnesident?

20 A Can you nephrase? That he nepnesented --

2t a Do you know whethen Ambassadon Sondland had nepnesented to
22 other people in your cincle of, you know, wonking these staff issues,
23 nepnesented to those people that he had fnequent communications with
24 the President?
25 A I don't know. I didn't have enough pensonal interaction

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L with Ambassadon Sondland to be able to say.

2 a Okay. So it was never communicated to you that pant of his

3 value pnoposition hene is that he's close to the Pnesident?
4 A Again, you know, I'm only now becoming aware of some of the
5 engagements that he may have had with Uknainians and othens, so I don't
6 know how he chanactenized himself in those discussions.
7 a The communication that he had with Mn. Yenmak in Wansaw, You
8 only leanned about that in the pness?

9 A That's night. I was not awane of it at the time.

10 a And wene you tnacking what happened yesterday? He submitted
11 an addendum, I think it is.
t2 A I've seen that.
13 a An addendum? Was that what it was, an addendum to his
14 testimony ?

15 A I've seen it.

16 a Did you see that?
L7 A I've seen the neponts, yes.
18 a Okay. And did you tnack what was in the addendum?

19 A I haven't nead it yet. I've just seen the news neporting

20 about it.
2L a Do you know whether the addendum included an account of the
22 Wansaw --
23 A I don't know, I haven't nead it yet. But I undenstand I think
24 he was descnibing his meeting with Mn. Yenmak. But, again, I wasn't
25 pant of that meeting in Wansaw.

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t a Okay. But the -- Mornison, Bolton, nobody communicated to

2 you about the Sondland-Yenmak communication?
3 A Connect.

4 a You just nead about it in the pness?

5 A Yes. I was not awane of that until this week.

6 MR. CASTOR: Okay.

7 That's all I have.

8 Mr. londan?

9 MR. IORDAN: So the concenns you had, Ms. Williams, with the July
10 25th caII, I just want to make sure I heard what you said eanlien. You

11. didn't shane any concenns with anyone?

12 MS. WILLIAvIS: No, sin, that's night.

13 MR. IORDAN: Okay. Not with Genenal Kel1ogg, not with the Vice
L4 Pnesident ?

15 MS. WILLIAVIS: Connect.

15 MR. IORDAN: Okay. And the Vice President had the thnee
t7 intenactions with Pnesident Zelensky. He had the call in Apni1, he

18 had the face-to-face in Wansaw Septemben 1st, and then the followup
19 call a few weeks laten.
20 MS. WILLIAvIS: Septemben 18th, y€s, sin.
2L MR. JORDAN: Septemben 17th, 18th?

22 MS. WILLIAVIS: ConNeCt.

23 MR. IORDAN: 18th. Okay. And Mn. Caston asked you about what,

24 you know, the things that wenen't discussed thene and what was discussed

25 thene.

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L Did the Vice Pnesident talk with any othen high-nanking Uknainian
2 officials in this timeframe?

3 MS. WILLIAVIS: No. Thene wene othen Uknainian officials

4 obviously involved in the Septemben 1st bilat meeting, but that's it.
5 MR. JORDAN: But the focus was always the Vice Pnesident and

6 Pnesident Zelensky, talking with --

7 MS. WILLIAV1S: Connect.

8 MR. JORDAN: -- oun Vice Pnesident talking with thein top -- top
9 official ?

10 MS. WILLIAVIS: That's right.

11 MR. IORDAN: Okay. Thank you.

t2 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay.

13 Ms. Williams, thank you fon youn testimony. Thank you for youn

L4 senvice to the country.

15 That concludes this deposition, and we ane adjounned.
16 IWhereupon, at 1:57 p.n., the deposition was concluded.]

UNCLASSIFIED
 Justin V. Shur
MoloLamken LLP
600 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
T: 202.556.2005
F: 202.556.2001
[email protected]
www.mololamken.com

November 11, 2019

The Honorable Adam Schiff

Chairman
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: Correction to the transcript of Jennifer Williams’s deposition testimony

Dear Chairman Schiff:

We write on behalf of Jennifer Williams under Rule 8 of the 116th Congress’s

Regulations for Use of Deposition Authority. Ms. Williams has reviewed the transcript of her
deposition testimony from November 7, 2019, and wishes to amend it as described below.

At her deposition, Ms. Williams was asked whether the Ukrainian company Burisma was
mentioned by name during the call between President Trump and President Zelensky on July 25,
2019. She testified that it was. Tr. at 66-67, 129. She was then asked who had mentioned it and
whether she had taken notes. Ms. Williams testified that she had taken notes, and that she
believed her notes reflected that President Trump had referenced Burisma. Id. At the time of her
testimony, that was Ms. Williams’s recollection.

Following the deposition, Ms. Williams reviewed her notes again and discovered that her
recollection had been incorrect. Her notes reflect that President Zelensky mentioned Burisma
during the July 25 call. They do not indicate that President Trump did so. Accordingly, Ms.
Williams wishes to amend her response to the question discussed above so that it accurately
reflects what she recorded during the call.

We thank the Committee for considering this letter.

Sincerely,

Justin V. Shur
Emily K. Damrau
Caleb Hayes-Deats
Counsel to Jennifer Williams

Jennifer Williams