Catherine Croft, a State Department adviser on Ukraine, departs a secure area of the Capitol after a closed door meeting where she testified as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Transcripts in the newest batch from testimony in the House impeachment hearings are chipping away at a key Republican defense of President Donald Trump.
At issue is Trump's decision to tie military aid for Ukraine to investigations of Joe Biden and the Democrats. Allies of the president say he did nothing wrong because the Ukrainians never knew the aid was being delayed.
The special adviser for Ukraine at the State Department, Catherine Croft, says she fielded inquiries from Ukraine about the holdup.
In the transcript of her testimony to House investigators, released Monday, Croft says officials in Ukraine were clear in their concern over the assistance as they battled Russian aggression.
Witnesses in the impeachment inquiry are set to begin testifying in public on Wednesday.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, left, arrives to review her testimony as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Associated Press
Christopher Anderson, a career foreign service officer in the State Department, arrives to review his testimony during a closed-door interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, in the impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The Associated Press